Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul
by SyxxFox
Summary: The Lylat System now lies in the hand's of Syxx, who now controls a force mightier than himself. Krystal has only one last chance to stop him but after Corneria's fate is forever changed, she realizes, Syxx will stop at nothing to extinguish them all.
1. Prologue

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
**_SyxxFox_**  
****Chapter I****  
****Prologue

* * *

**

We've all heard the story…  
A system falls into peril, and "Average Joe" goes on a quest to save the system… turns out to be a big hero.  
Or have we heard the story?  
What happens when the very person who vowed to keep the system safe was now the very power that threatens to destroy it?

Lylat is a system scorned by many wars, but in a world where Syxx becomes the biggest threat to the Lylat System who is to stop him? Starfox no longer exists, and when Star Falco's flagship, the Greatfox is taken by a familiar virus, they didn't have to power to overtake the Slayers.

With the (disappearance/death) of Kyla, there is no longer a catalyst to control the true power of Syxx. No one knows for sure how Syxx resurrected the Aparoid virus, or how he learned how to control it, but it was back, and stronger than before. The Lylat System had destroyed the virus once before, but only with the help of Starfox.

But… who was there to stop it now?

The vulpine doesn't want money… he doesn't want fame… he wanted vengeance, and now nothing stands in his way, except the front line defenses of planet Katina, for the grand prize… Corneria.

Krystal wasn't strong enough to stop him… and with Syxx's powers growing greater everyday, she might not be enough. Who will be alive to see the end? Whose soul will be spared?

Welcome to _Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul.

* * *

_

Rated T/M  
-Censored Language  
-Gore  
-Violence  
-Suggestive Scenes


	2. Ghosts of Lylat

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter II****  
****Ghosts of Lylat  
**_Five months after the Events of "__Operation Forefront"__of "__Armageddon Soul"

* * *

_

"_Time to feel good without you,  
I'm your last breath,  
Why do I die without you?  
You're my last breath,_

_Pushing again!  
Pushing again!  
The bluer the eyes, the bluer the skin,_

_Thanking you again for nothing,"_

**INDEX CASE **_**- "For Nothing"

* * *

**_

"So… what now General?"

The room was dark. Senses were filled with a sense of impending doom. The tension could be felt through a phone line. General Peppy Hare, head of the Cornerian Military circled his paw around the hollow-panel. He was an old hare, once a member of the original team Starfox, led by James McCloud. He fought along side his son as well after James' disappearance, now the head of Cornerian Military. The table, that himself and the other Commissioned Officers sat around was the only source of light in the room. The table's surface was illuminated with a map of the Lylat System. A few centimeters off the table, the holograms of planets floated about its surface. The holograms of the sectors, of Fichina, of Sol.

In outskirts of the solar system, many planets of both ice and stone circled Sol, except for one green one that was able to sustain an abundant form of Jurassic life. Around the planet circled ten smaller ships, each one was crippled, until it disappeared off the hollow-panel with small holographic pieces of shrapnel, now just space junk.

The old hare cleared his throat. "How'd they learn to control the virus?"

"We don't know."

"How did they destroy the whole Strike Force?"

"We don't know."

The hare slammed his fist down on the table. "Well find me someone who does know damn it!!"

It was silent for a moment. "Sir. If I may?"

The ever aging hare nodded. He coughed lightly, putting his paw over his forehead, and rubbing it. "Go on _General Landry_."

An older grey cat stood. A Brigadier General. "From our gathered intel. We can conclude that Slayer Forces, their ships… cannot be detected by our radar. They are F1 Hook Echo's, only about one hundred had ever been made, all hand crafted. Aparoids have been also known to use slip space to surpass our defenses. Don't get me wrong Sir; our previous engagement with the Aparoids has made us smarter and stronger. But, they know how to jump to slip space without the need of a Gateway, we don't."

"He's right Sir." Another CO stood. He pointed toward Titania on the map. The hologram zoomed to the orbit of the planet. "Our recon forces have been able to neutralize two _Soul Aparoids_ on Titania's surface, and in orbit. When our naval forces first came across a Soul Aparoid, it ended in disaster. We've learned how to destroy them."

The map zoomed back out to the Lylat System, and Landry continued. "So far they're spread thin Sir. But that can change in a hurry. Any forces beyond Sector X are on high alert. But…" He paused. The middle aged feline waved his paw over to Katina. "Katina, is Corneria's strongest line of defense. The Aparoidian virus, can't get to Corneria without going through Katina."

"The virus," another General Cut in, "has the ability to infect almost anything. Whether its, electrical, mechanical… or, organic... us. It has the ability to turn anything that's an asset to us, against us. We have an antivirus for Aparoid infection, but it isn't preemptive, it must be administered after infection to disable the virus."

"Forward recon teams have detected activity as close as Sector X. If we want to defend Corneria, we better do it now."

Peppy put his paws down on the meeting table. "Alright, that does it then. Order all forces to fall back to Katina. I fear, if we are spread to thin, the virus will begin to take its toll, and grow stronger. Nothing and no one gets through that blockade. Am I clear, General?"

"Crystal Sir."

"Im making the call. Code Rainbow. Immediate and imminent danger toward the citizens of Corneria from now one, the curfew is in effect. If any Aparoids jump from Katina, elevate a code. We can't take the chance, of having an infection on the surface of Corneria, not again. No ship enters or leaves the surface of this planet unless I give it clearance first. Dismissed."

The lights of the room faded in, as the hologram on the table faded away. The General sat further back into his chair, as he watched all the personal put on their jackets and depart from the room. The only thing left on his mind, the lives of the ones who were brave enough to face the Slayers, and died, and the thankfulness, that every single member of Star Falco, made it back to the surface of Corneria, in one piece.

"And General." Peppy put up his paw.

"Yes Sir."

"Alert all combative forces of the Slayers. It's time the truth goes out. Let them know what they are up against… then maybe they'll have chance."

* * *

X

* * *

It was cold in this desert. The brutal winds of Titania seemed to never come to a stop. _Brad Stagg_ peered down the scope of the heavy sniper rifle, looking onto the blowing red-orange sands of the planet from the top of an old cliff structure that had been carved away from thousands of years of blowing dust and sandstorms. The wind was especially bad here, but it came in gusts.

"Never gets old huh?"

"Nope." Stagg replied to his spotter.

His spotter peered through the binoculars, Sean Richards. "Just sand, sand, and more sand."

"Yup." Stagg simply said again, still staring through the scope.

They both wore the Siege Marine armoring. The bucket helmets rounded their heads, still allowing their ears to poke up through the slits in the helmets. The steel-like protective pads on the armoring had adjusted to their surroundings a long time ago, now matching the bloody red-orange hoodoo that they laid upon. They tried to keep their tails down, even though, when they were board, there was an awful habit of wagging them in the air. They were a pair of hounds, as they were often mistaken for brothers. Sean was ever so slightly taller then Stagg, but that was about it. They were two large dogs. They were two German Sheppards… tough guys.

"I mean, it would be nice just to see something." Sean said.

"I'd rather not, man."

"Oh! Oh wait! See that!?!"

"What? Where?"

"Just below the horizon, degree two-nine-eight, three clicks."

The hound adjusted his scope, and checked the coordinates. "Ok… I see it. Call it in." He stared down the scope. He saw the silver bug-like creature. It was fairly small, but yet bigger then himself. "Looks like a _Blazer."_

The spotter took the radio from off his belt, without loosing his eye position within his monocular. "Control, this Nordic-one, we have an identified Aparoid target on the approach, distance three kilometers and closing. Target ID Aparoid Blazer Unit."

"Roger that Nordic. Please relay coordinates."

"Bearing: North-West, degree two-nine-eight. Zero-five-zero by two-eight-one. No mans land."

"Nordic-One, the target that you have identified is of hostile origin. Green light. Green light to engage."

"Roger that." Sean put aside the radio. He patted his friend on the back and reacquired the target. "Good to go."

Stagg stared at the target. He pulled the trigger half in, took a deep breath and pulled it the rest of the way in. The large rifle just made the sound of a _slip_. The kick of the rifle made Stagg loose site of the target, and the bipod jump off the ground. The shock of the plasma pulse made each of the dogs hair stand on end for but a split second. The yellow tracer cut through the air, making a line between himself and the target.

Sean watched it explode. "That's a hit. Whoa… I think there's more where that one came from."

"What?" Brad put his eye back through the scope. He saw many more shadows in the dust. "Sh-t. This enough fun for ya' Richards?" He paused. "Ten plus Blazers, two _Boomers._ Sh-t… there must be a _Hatcher_ in there somewhere."

"Control, multiple targets approaching, possible Hatcher site. Requesting fire mission, zero-four-nine by two-"

"Nordic-One, disengage targets. A Savage is inbound for pickup."

The dog raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me Control, but what the h-ll!?!"

The female on the other end began more stern. "Command has pulled the plug on your mission. All forces are falling back to Katina. Freda-six is inbound now for pick up. You have fire support on your targets. Control out."

As soon as the radio was silent, and over the howling winds of the planet, the hound could hear the sound of a screaming dropship, and he saw it approaching them. "Let's go!" Sean shouted above the sound of the ship. Sean lifted his rifle to his paws, moving toward the ship.

Two other fighters escorted the ship. They were smaller fighter craft, primarily designed to attack ground targets. They spanned their wings as they both came to a hover. They pointed their heavy weapons down range. They were smaller than the dropships, but faster and sleeker with a stealth design to them. The ground support aircrafts were always on station for them. Two short wings stuck out from the sides. The engines output turned allowing them to hover. A long tail was let out from the rear of the cockpits and the pilots and gunners windows sat on each other, one in front of the other.

The gunner in the _Freon_ spoke. "Target acquired… Shade Two."

The air around them lit up. The screeching of plasma missiles rang around them. The heavy plasma weapons on their wings rattled, sending rounds into the dust, and out of sight.

The other grey and white colored dog picked up the sniper from the handle that sat above the scope. The weapon was heavy, and bulky. It had the power to knock any enemy to their knees. It was a tall weapon, long and powerful, and mostly prototype machinery. It didn't use a battery like its former Mark II Plasma Beam Rifle; it used powerful shell rounds that loaded ten black cylinders to a clip. The new weapon was much larger then its predecessor, but matching power, many scout sniper teams found worth it. Its power as a sniper was unprecedented.

The sniper pairs sat down on the side seats of the dropship. Other sniper teams filled the ship.

The Marine on the heavy weapon spoke through the radio. "Freda, last sniper team retrieved. Clear for evac."

The ship took flight and the Freons bolted past the savage. "Shade Two, fire mission complete. Targets down zero-five-zero."

"Thanks Shade Two." The huge blast doors closed. Stagg yelled at the Lieutenant on the gun. "What's going on!?"

"Aparoids have been detected in all parts of system! High Command is ensuring no one gets cutoff from Corneria! All forces are being ordered back to Corneria, and Katina!"

Sergeant Stagg looked at the other dog. "Enough action for ya' yet?"

"Not when were running from it."

He punched him in the arm. "Let's consider ourselves lucky for this one. I heard that a whole platoon got leveled by one _Aparoid_. Killed at least fifteen of them before it bugged out… no one even saw it come… or go."

"Sounds like a demon to me, not an Aparoid."

* * *

X

* * *

A certain reverberation of a high pitched whine broke through the silence of the lounge as a claw tip was drug around the rim of a glass. A blue fox looked down into the glass, staring at whatever was left, some colored liquid, and mostly ice. She glanced up at the micro flat TV that hung off a bracket off the wall of the bar. She let out a deep sigh, and fluttered away a tear before it could roll down her fur and drip into her glass.

_Krystal_. A blue fox. A Cerinian. This meant she had no home. Her home was destroyed a long time ago. She had once been a member of the prestigious Starfox group. Years ago, Fox McCloud had rescued her atop a palace on Dinosaur planet. Once she had proven herself worthy of the team, she was given a spot. A lot has happened since then though. Things have changed a lot. Fox was dead, and the system was in confusion. She was now a part of team Star Falco, led by Falco Lombardi, a former member of the Starfox team.

"Freshen your drink ma'am?"

Krystal was caught by surprise. She shot her head up, staring at the greyhound bar tender for a moment before answering. "Oh, yeah sure. That'd be great."

The hound poured the drink almost right under her nose, then slid it back slightly so it was once again right under her. She had been watching some kind of sports game that was often played, before the TV went silent. She turned her glance upwards toward the TV. It was suddenly covered with colored bars, screaming a high pitch whine. Words scrolled across the bottom of the screen. "Standby for a Special Report."

The vixen suddenly took attention to the television. The message repeated itself for a few moments before it flickered once, and it returned to the news show. It was once again a pink feline, the same one that had been working there for years.

She spoke affirming. "Good evening. We interrupt your regular programming bringing you this special report. We're now going live to the Cornerian Military Complex for an emergency announcement."

The cameras flipped from the news room toward a podium within the complex. In the corner of the screen there was a small box that read "Live Feed".

The vixen listened as a middle aged feline in a grey coat of fur cleared his voice lightly and began to speak. "It has come to my attention that there is an unknown presence within the Lylat System. Many of you already know of the disappearance of ten Cornerian Ships within the Lylat System..."

Krystal took a sip of her drink and snuffed. "_Pftt_… disappearance."

"We have detected this unknown presence in and around the system. Which is why all military forces have been pulled back to Katina, until we can investigate the threat further. This is another reason that we are inflicting a curfew on Corneria City, and the rest of Corneria. Any civilian outdoors of a residential area after the hours of eleven pm, will be fined with a two-hundred fifty credit ticket for their first offence. The Police will be lenient for the first three nights, but after the first week any civilians found outdoors between the hours of eleven pm and five am, will be in the real danger of being fired upon with live rounds. All civil ships are limited with atmospheric ranges of Corneria during hours of daylight only. Any ships leaving the planets surface will be giving one warning before fired upon. We will relay information as we learn more."

The screen flashed back to the pink feline. "We'll have more at eleven with news final." The screen flashed back to the sports game.

Krystal checked the time and murmured. "_Nine-thirty."_

The bar tender spoke in a stern voice that could be heard from throughout the bar. "All right everybody, the bar closes at ten-thirty tonight!" There were only a few groups of people playing pool on two of the four tables.

Krystal circled her paw around the rim of the glass once more. "Perfect."

She stayed until the pub closed its doors at ten-thirty. She stepped outside. All the buildings down town painted with plasma lights stating that the curfew was in effect. The tallest tower in the city had massive numbers on the side of it. They read the same thing on all four sides of the building. "00:28 Until Curfew."

Krystal sighed. She spun on her heels and made her way back to the hotel that she was staying in. Of course, she didn't have to pay for it. It was covered by Peppy. The four star luxury suite was nice, she had to admit, and even with the presence of the rest of Star Falco in the nearby room it felt big and empty.

Star Falco… some good they were now. The team was rendered almost useless. After the Greatfox had fallen, they were highly limited. Still she felt a sense of contempt toward the one that had taken it from right underneath her. She still wasn't strong enough, and she feared that he was just going to grow stronger.

Krystal stepped through the large glass doors into the hotel, and through the lobby. She took the first elevator up to her floor, near the top. She waved her key card in front of the scanner to her room. The first thing that she did was sit down, glancing out the window for a moment and turned on the TV. She noticed a timer on the bottom corner of every TV station.

She spoke to herself. "Really taking this seriously."

The vixen leaned back into the sofa. She stared at the TV but there were other things on her mind. "_We are ghosts… we are the writing on at walls_." Her head raced with thoughts. "_Back when it all made sense._"

The vixen turned the TV off after noticing a paper sitting on the edge of the counter, near the kitchen area. She stared at it for a moment. The little blue fox then closed her eyes. She put both paw tips on the temples of her head, before she opened her eyes once more. She focused all her attention on the paper. She concentrated in the utmost silence, before she could hear her seaming distant _hum _within her head.

The vixen had been trying hard everyday to move objects with her mind. It was hard work and extremely exhausting. She stared at it longer, humming louder, and breathing heavier. She shut her eye lids, and imagined every single edge of the paper. Her senses sparked, as her mind gave out. She kept her eyes closed, holding her head with both palms. It sometimes hurt. She froze in the silence as she heard the _flop _of the fly of paper fluttering through the air, and dropping onto the floor, sliding across the hardwood.

She bolted her head up just in time to see the paper hit the floor, and a smiled rode across her face. This was the first time that she had seen any real results. She had tried a few times on smaller objects, but was never sure she had moved anything at all. This gave her a boost of confidence pushing toward the realization that she too, was getting stronger, and that if she kept practicing, she would be able to move bigger objects soon.

She would one day be stronger than him, and be able to infiltrate his mind, and bring him back. She had made this promise too many times before. It was time to follow up on it. She should have never let it come to this… he had gone too far.

The vixen leaned back into the chair. "_His mind… it's so hard to detect._" The vixen got up, and walked toward the window. She put her paw on the glass. _"But I'm going to find you… and I'm going to stop you."_ It was time to start pushing again.


	3. Them and Us

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter III****  
****Them and Us

* * *

**

"_Somebody should tell you to appreciate,  
So easy – enduring - so why am I this way?  
Help me shut out what I hate out,  
And it's so easy to explain,  
I guess you know about what I think about,  
So you're the perfect pain,_

_When God pulls his gun out,  
It's not running out,  
We left something out,  
The end's breathing,  
Teething,  
Ripping out our final page,  
A final action,  
Satisfaction,  
Pleasure through pain,  
So listen to the way the,  
The echoes rain,_

_You want to see the line,  
Of the peoples' mind,  
And its choices look out,  
When it slowly regrets time,  
Facing whys tasting lies,  
You better run,_

_Who's got the gun now!?"_

**INDEX CASE**** – "Sincere"

* * *

**

Home. The first time that he had been home in years was what it felt like. _Paul Ramirez_ was unmarried and he had been in the military over the past years of service, which had paid very well. He kept a medium sized town house in the north-east end of Corneria city. The raccoon was one of the original trainers of the Slayers, along with a selective few others, found worthy of training the systems most feared warriors. Paul himself was lead trainer of the project, and one of the head, now, Commissioned Officers, of the Cornerian Army.

He tipped over the bottle of brandy, watching it slowly roll over the ice cubes, and to the bottom of his glass. He didn't drink often. He didn't like the effects of alcohol on his body. His face was illuminated by the light of the computer he sat in front of. He hovered his paws above the holographic key board, hesitating. He opened his internet browser, and typed in _Project Slayer_, and than pressed _enter._

The page quickly flashed away, than loaded. Page after page came in. He looked in the tope corner, and read _43 results to display in 0.00042 seconds._

He set down the glass, on the desk next to monitor. "Sh-t."

The raccoon clicked on the first result, and began to read the text on the page.

_Project Slayer is an alleged program that the governing bodies of Corneria have set forward in attempts to model the perfect soldier. Contenders were removed from Cornerian Prisons and Military programs and put through arduous training to perfect their skills to destroy any rival (rebellious) forces. Allegedly the program soon took a fifty percent casualty rate, and soon after, was cancelled. No Slayer has ever been seen in action or in public._

_Public concerns would have never allowed the project to continue. Project Slayer breaks over twenty-five federal laws against soldier training._

_Project Slayer has never been a confirmed project and still to this day remains a government conspiracy._

The raccoon took a deep breath, and scrolled down the page. There were a few photos, and some hyperlinks on the page. Under a tab there was a heading "_More Linked to Project Slayer": Air Craft, Symbology, Weapons, Tech, Linked Conspiracies and Mysteries._

He took a sip from the glass, and leaned back into his seat taking his paws off the key board. "Command on. Open _Conspiracies and Mysteries_."

The computer spoke back to him in a soft feminine voice. "Opening _Linked Conspiracies and Mysteries_."

"Recite page text."

"_Operation Forefront was conducted by the military to neutralize rebellious activity set around Planet Sauria. In late reports it was stated that ten battleships and cruisers were dispatched to quell activity. Soon after arrival on station each ship was destroyed in combat in less than two hours into the battle. No survivors were recorded, and the military dismissed it as an anomaly, despite the deaths of over six-hundred personal. Operation Forefront was a confirmed military movement, whose entities are protected by the government and the military."_

As the voice read the text, the coon arose to the window. He held his drink in one paw, while he set the other claw tip into the window shades and cracked them. He winced as blinding light shone through the room. He set down the drink, and covered his muzzle and face with a mask, with a small dark lens to look out of. He put on gloves, and folded down the mask. He held up another steel bar, and welded it into place. White hot sparks and a bolt of light shone from the contact.

He quickly finished putting the last bar into place. The molded steel still glowed with heat energy. It cooled fast after he attached the other side. He took a step back from the window. The window left a checkered shadow on the floor. Crossed bars of steel crossed the window, welded to the frame of the house on each end. The raccoon took a step back, leaned over, and gave the bars a good kick with his shoe. They vibrated for a moment, but didn't budge.

He stepped closer to the window, setting all he had down. He hung an arm through the grating. Looking out the window, and into the yard, at the tall steel fence, he stared.

"Incoming call from "" It was the female voice on his computer. "Answer call?"

"Answer."

"Ramirez? Ramirez!?! You there!?! Were the h-ll you been!?!" It was "" one of his close friends that he had spent years with in the military. He was a figure in the air force, and another trainer of the Slayers. He knew just as much about their power as he did, and why to fear them.

The raccoon still hung with his arm wrapped around the bar. "They're coming you know."

"What? Who?"

"The Slayers. They're coming. They're coming to Corneria and they aren't alone."

"They won't come here Paul, all they want is freedom, and they don't want to be cooped up here."

"If you want to be safe hide. Fighting them one on one is hopeless."

"They won't come to Corneria Paul."

"They're all criminals. They are all convicts. They'll come for revenge. Each for their own reason."

"I think you've gone off the deep end Ramirez… how can you be so sure?" he began to take an interest, over fear.

Ramirez smiled, looking toward the sun smiling. "They will."

"You're crazy dude."

The computer then stated. "Call terminated."

The raccoon glanced away from the sky. His smiled faded, his hair covering the sun from his face, shading his eyes. "They will."

* * *

X

* * *

Krystal's eyes slid open. Dreams seemed so far off and vague. She rolled over on the sofa where she had fallen asleep. She had awoken once over the course of the night, but didn't have to strength to go to the bed. The TV was still on too. She could feel her hair that was usually down past her shoulder, in a mess above her head and around her ears.

She was awoken by a high pitched ringing. She turned on her shoulder looking onto the coffee table where her wrist monitor was ringing. The vixen moaned, reaching toward the table, slapping it once before she was able to grasp it. She rolled onto her back, trying to make her voice sound as if she had been awake. She set it on audio only, so the hologram wouldn't arise, and they wouldn't be able to see her.

Her voice rasped. "Hello?"

"Good morning Krystal." It was Katt. A pink hair feline that Falco had known for a long time. She had joined Star Falco a few years back when Fox had passed. She was very feminine, but a good pilot, and joked around with Falco a lot. Krystal still didn't know if there was anything going on between them, nor did she care. Katt had been really friendly to her when she had joined the team, and she watched her back a lot. It pleased Krystal.

Katt continued. "We're all about to head down to the lobby to catch some breakfast, care to join us?"

Krystal cleared her throat. "Can I meet you guys there in a half hour?"

"Sure, see you then."

Krystal tossed the wrist monitor onto the floor, and slowly sat up on the sofa. The morning news was still on. It wasn't yet nine in the morning. After a quick shower and a clean up, she stepped into the elevator, and before long was in the restaurant in the lobby. Krystal sat down with Katt and Falco. She could hear the bird before she even entered the restaurant.

"This is ridicules!!!"

Krystal sat down beside Katt and across from Falco. A rather plump badger poured Krystal a coffee. "Is there anything I can get for ya' dear? Can I get you a menu?"

Krystal smiled back. "The coffee, that's all for now, thank you."

"Alright dear."

The blue fox then turned to the avian. "What happened Falco?"

"Look at this!" The bird slapped down his wing over the table, under his wing appeared a ticket for three hundred-fifty credits.

"Apparently, Falco was out late drinking last night." Katt glanced at the ticket than at him.

Falco lowered an eyebrow and glared at Katt. "So was Krystal."

"Yes but I was back by eleven." She grinned. Krystal spun the ticket and picked it up. "Curfew break, two-fifty… what is this? Failure to cooperate with law eforcment… one-hundred credits!?!"

The bird snatched the ticket back. "That's a load of bull sh-t!!! I swear they didn't even know who I was!"

"Give it a break Falco. Most everyone knows who you are. Still doesn't keep you above the law." Katt frowned.

Whatever… I'm going to go by the office. See if I can convince them to wave it." Falco turned away, picking up the cup and taking a drink. "Grateful." He mumbled. "I saved their a-ses who knows how many times."

Krystal's smiled faded. "It wasn't just you ya' know."

"Yeah. God forbid Fox give anyone else any credit."

The blue vixen growled. She stood up from the table, knocking her hip on the edge. The glasses of water and coffee shuddered. She stood at the side of the table, putting both paws flat on the surface, looming down on him. The look upon her face was expressionless, yet still angry and upset. "Fox was a damn fine pilot, and a fine captain. And you know it."

The entire lounge became quiet. Everyone was staring.

Falco leaned back. "Krystal you know I didn't mean it like that."

Krystal took a look around the place. They stared. "Fox made you a hero. You didn't make him one."

"Just sit down Krystal." Katt put a paw on her shoulder.

"I'm just saying, everyone knew who he was. What about us?"

Katt snapped. "Falco! Drop it!"

The avian made eye contact with Krystal. "He's been gone for almost three years! No one says any bad stuff about anyone at a funeral. Look… Fox was a great guy… but he was a little selfish."

"Yeah?" The fox's ears lowered. "Than so are you."

The fox stepped away, dragging her paw across the table. Hot coffee landed on his lap, and Krystal walked away. Falco's back arched, he held in whatever swear it was he was going to yell. Coffee dripped onto the clean floor, from off the table. The avian remained completely still, feeling the steaming hot liquid drain and soak through his pants.

Katt glared at Falco while _Dash Bowmen_ took a seat. Dash was the grandson to Andross. An ape. Andross had vowed to destroy the system many times long ago, but Fox had always foiled his plans. Now Andross was gone for good… and so was Fox. Dash had put that behind him a long time ago, and while attending flight school his high thoughts of Falco and Fox landed him a spot on the team.

Dash took a seat. "What the h-ll just happened?"

"I think she's still upset." Falco spoke through a locked jaw.

Katt shook her head, giving him _the eye._ "Ya' think? You don't have to be a jerk about it." The cat got up from her seat, pushing it back and letting it grind over the floor. She tossed her jacket over her shoulders, running after Krystal.

Dash nudged in. "I could have thought of a more _colorful_ word then _jerk_."

"What!?! What'd I do!?!"

The waitress came and quickly cleaned up the mess, bringing new cups and pouring more coffee.

"What happened?" Dash asked again.

I guess Krystal is still a little sensitive about Fox."

"Still?"

"Ever since we got smashed by those fighters on Suaria, she has been edgy."

"But that was months ago."

"Yeah…" Falco trailed off, distracted.

"What's up?"

"Krystal's a telepath. She could know more about this war than anyone. I'm just a little freaked out, because if it's stressing her, then it's more than enough to freak me out."

The pink cat ran after Krystal, she still struggled to get her jacket over her shoulders. The door of the hotel closed on her, just after Krystal. Katt pushed the glass doors open still running. "Krystal! Krystal wait!"

The blue fox stopped in her tracks spinning around. "No! I've had enough of him! I can't listen to Falco anymore!"

"You know how Falco is."

"Yeah!?! Well I'm sick of it!"

"Come on _hun_. Let's go for a walk."

"Katt, thanks for being a friend. I really need it."

"Before it's too late, I think that _somebody should tell you, to appreciate_."

Krystal bit her lip. "I can feel an evil presence. It's all around us. Corneria just feels like the only safe place… for now."

"What's this about? Is this about the war?"

"Yes… No… it's complicated."

Katt smiled. "I bet its not. I bet it's quite simple. Let's just run in here; I want to take a coffee." Katt and Krystal, stepped into a small corner coffee shop. "You want anything _hun_?"

The blue fox stopped and took a seat. "No… thank you."

She set her arms on the table and pressed her muzzle into them. Her eyes moved around the room, until they found the TV. Still, the morning news was on. An older cat, grey was finishing up the news for the morning. "… and this afternoon we'll have the real secret behind what the Cornerian Military has been doing behind the backs of public for over three years. We'll have the complete details on a darkened military project and why it was kept a secret for so long. More on news hour and complete details on news hour final, tonight at eleven."

The fox's heart started to pound inside her chest. This was what it was all about. This was Slayer. Krystal wanted to tell Katt what the problem was. She wanted to tell Katt about her whole life as a bounty hunter. She wanted to tell her about her life as a child, and her time with Starfox, with the man that had rescued her from a top Krazoa palace. Most of all, she wanted to tell her of the coming war and she wanted to tell her who was about to wage this war on Corneria and the rest of the system. Krystal wanted to tell someone all about Fox, and how he faked his death. She wanted to tell someone all about… _Syxx._

* * *

X

* * *

"Holy F-ck Syxx."

Syxx was a fox. A black fox betrayed long ago. The story behind him remains a mystery to most Slayers… but so was everyone's. He rubbed his knuckle into his other paw. A Slayer was once the most prestigious, and mystifying title in entire Lylat System. It hasn't yet been a year since the Slayers revolted against the Cornerian Military, and in turn on Corneria. Project Slayer was technically illegal and over half of the trainees died during the program. Their identities were kept a secret, and so was the program… it still was a secret to the Cornerian public. If they knew of the Slayers training process, it would be simply shut down. But after two years of beating, death, and some high tech weaponry, the Slayers were born. Syxx thought their powers were being abused. The Slayers were more like slaves, almost every single one of them an ex-convict, all had something against Corneria. That's why they listen to him. He promised revenge.

Slayers… the ultimate warriors. Only one had ever been known to die in combat. She sacrificed herself so Syxx could deliver the virus himself. Her named hadn't been mentioned since that day, not around Syxx anyways. Most didn't want to upset him even more, he was angry most of the time already, which had been growing little by little ever since that day had passed… the day that she had passed. The Slayers had too much respect for Syxx to bring that up.

Syxx wore deep black boots, black pants and nothing but a silver vest over his silky midnight fur. Most Slayers prefer to stay in their Vortec's. The Vortec was a powerful suit made in collaboration with SFX on Corneria. Many suits deformed and reformed when the virus infected the nano-bots within the armor.

The sky was dark, with far off bolts of light in the sky. The thunder was too far off to hear. It was hard to tell if it was a storm brewing, or one that had passed or missed them. It wasn't quite raining; it was more of a mist falling down. It fell down onto the dirty decaying rocks of _Krazoa Palace._ As far as he knew, the palace had been constructed thousands of years ago. The rock surface was slowly being worn away by rain and wind. Moss grew between some of the cracks of stone in the palace. Other small plants grew in between rock spaces, and in corners were seeds had gathered and found enough nutrition in the rock, and dust to grow. The stone became slippery as a layer of water settled over the smooth faces.

The black vulpine turned to see two legs sticking out from under the hull of a silver fighter. They twitched, in their grey jumpsuit as a black tipped, ringed tail wagged back and forth beside them.

"What the F-ck did you do to this thing!?!"

The fox answered in a dark voice. "Can you fix it?"

Pyro slid out from the underneath a rugged silver fighter. He set his paw on the wing, lifting himself to his feet. He used an old oily rag, wiping his paws clean. "Of course I can fix it." Pyro leaped on top of the F1 Hook Echo. His grey jump suite was covered with all sorts of stains. The raccoon hit a switch on the inside of the F1, after that he jumped off. The cargo bay on the bottom of the craft slowly cracked open, the hydraulics whined, and screeched, and in another moment sparks flew in a plasmatic blast. Pyro covered his eyes with his forearm, glancing away. The ship went silent, all the lights went out and everything came to a halt.

Pyro. One of the surviving Slayers. Syxx never thought he would make it through training. Despite being a loud mouth, and getting on Syxx's nerves most of the time… on purpose, he was a good warrior and good fighter, and an even better mechanic. Though Pyro was smart, he didn't show it, and had a disorder, Syxx liked to call _Accident Prone_ and a habit of often succeeding by accident as well.

Pyro's ears dropped. "Sh-t." He mumbled.

Syxx cracked a smile at him, and lifted an eyebrow. "Then fix it."

The coon raised a brow. "Next time, avoid direct fit rail fire, alright _chief_?"

"I'll do what I can."

"Right…" He turned away from Syxx. "_Driod!_ A little hand here."

A small spider-like, or more of a crab-like machine walked over to Pyro, tapping its steel feet along the stone as it walked. It was no bigger than a small computer, three legs, two steel pincer looking arms, blue, an oblong shaped Aparoid machine. Pyro pointed at the hull of the Hook Echo. The small Aparoid _beeped_ one time and approached the cargo hold under the fighter, it _beeped_ again. A second later it emitted a small, blinding lazar beam out of what appeared to be its mouth. It cam in contact with the ship, making a series of sparks and the droid dragged it along the edges of the cargo hold, making a clean slice through the steel.

Pyro grabbed onto the edge of the Echo and swung himself up, and then down. His boots landed on the edge of the cargo bay doors. The Droid stopped cutting, the moment the coon's boots hit, the black door against the silver hull gave way and slammed onto the stone. The six legged machine scuttled up the ramp, and when it came down, it had a red tool box on its back that was twice its size.

Pyro slid under the ship once again, on his back. Syxx could only see his boots and legs again. He watched as the Droid unlatched the tool kit, as it still held it on its back. Pyro put out a paw, and the Droid automatically put the correct tool into his paw, knowing what he needed without a word.

Pyro began working and banging away at the belly of the ship, sparks from the weld flew all around. "_Oh-ho_, you're a piece of work Syxx."

Syxx ignored him, walking away. A dark brown wolverine sat atop a pillar. Something had happened when the Aparoid virus infected the _Vortec's_. The Vortec armoring became even stronger, and reshaped itself. Syxx's armor grew blades of shear steel across the outsides of his forearms of the suit; black blades arose from the sides, lined with a razor sharp edge of silvery steel. When his rage showed, his suit and gloves and armored body glowed a misty bright blue-white with power. Other Slayer's armor reformed differently when the virus took over the armoring. Some had elaborate shoulder flares and helmets, and others had streaking paint flashes.

"_Reaver_."

The wolverine leaped down from the pedestal, landing in front of Syxx. The boots crunched into the stone surface of the palace. "All went well friend. The Aparoids have covered most of the outer reaches of the system. Soon they will move onto to Katina." The wolverine spoke with a certain dialect. It was a heavy Russian accent.

More Slayers crowded around them. Syxx glanced around though the thin crowd. "And we do too."

Reaver nodded. "This time we take the fight to them comrade."

"When we take Katina that will become our new staging area. We corner them, on Corneria, and then they will have no where to run."

Reaver took a long blink; he became silent for a long moment. "Be carful when you corner the beast. Corneria is still a weapons super power."

Syxx took his _Mapaw_ weapon from Reaver, forcefully. "So are we." He spoke right into his face.

The wolverine remained motionless. "We don't have the defense super weapons. What if they photon our forces?"

Syxx shook his head. "They won't use photonic weapons on us. Not yet."

"Strike forces?"

"When the time comes, we'll deal with them. Photonic Weapons can only be stationed on the surface of Corneria. Surgical strike teams. No Aparoids. Slayers only."

"Disabling the missiles won't be enough."

Syxx agreed. "You're right. We'll launch them into space, at their own ships. The photons will decimate their fleet. When their Navy is crippled, we'll have a clean shot at their surface."

"What of the ones that cannot be launched?"

"Then we detonate them on the surface of Corneria. Anyone is blast radius, is added to the death count." Syxx's eyes narrowed.

"Radiation?"

"As long as we remain in the Vortec, We'll be fine. Aparoids aren't susceptible to radiation. We need contact with Corneria though." He slung the weapon over his shoulder. "That's why Reaver, you've been _promoted_ to chief of communication."

The wolverine put his own weapon to his side. "You made that up, didn't you?"

Syxx turned away. "On the spot." He spotted another Slayer. "_Mykll_, you're first force recon. Assemble your own team."

A coyote approached Syxx. A smoke hung out the side of his muzzle. "Orders?"

"Keep watch on Naval activity around Corneria."

"How close we talking?"

"_Fortuna,_ Katina, and _Sector Y_. Their frontlines. Get into the meteor-belt for all I care. Above all, avoid being detected. You don't have clearance to engage any targets."

The Slayer took a long drag out of his cigarette. "Understood."

The vulpine stepped closer to the brown and grey man. He knew how Slayers were. He knew how they acted in tense situations, if they even began to get nervous or board of waiting, they killed. Syxx should know… he was one. The vulpine stared at him nearly eye to eye, muzzles nearly touching. He spoke fiercely through grit teeth, and lowered ears. "You're recon Mykll. If you're made, then hide. Got it?"

The coyote was unfazed by the ferocity of the black fox. He stared back, taking a drawn out blink. "Not exactly Slayer _forte_, is it?"

Syxx backed off. "Everything is Slayer forte. Get to it Mykll."

Mykll waved off his paw, with a trail of smoke. "Yes, yes of course."

Syxx let out one last growl. "Make sure your team knows it."

Mykll took one last drag and stepped away.

Reaver took stance beside Syxx. The two Slayers watched the other warriors disperse, and go off to their tasks at hand. Most of them weren't even there anyways. Many were on planets with Aparoids, cleaning up any Cornerian forces that they encountered. They no longer need security teams either. The Aparoids had been placed on surveillance of half the system. The only bad thing was the surveillance drones were slow, and lagging in firepower. They were often shot down. But that didn't matter. New ones would spawn, and simply take their places.

Reaver crossed his arms. "I'm not exactly the talking type. Why myself for communications?"

The vulpine raised an eyebrow before turning to him. "Because."

"For any reason what so ever?"

"No. Because the sound of a Russian warrior making threats is better then I could do any day. Sounds a little scarier."

The wolverine grinned slightly. "To it than. What of Corneria?"

The vulpine spun walking away, but paused to look over his shoulder. "The Lylat System's fate has already been decided Reaver. _God has his gun out, the end is breathing, teething, and soon will be ripping out, our final page_."

"_And listen to the echoes rain_." The dark haired wolverine crossed his arms smiling. "_Da_."

Syxx dismissed Reaver with one last glance. He headed back over to his F1. Pyro had goggles over his eyes while the Droid welded some of the steel shut. "What'da ya' think Pyro?"

In the next second the welding stopped. "She'll be good as new in no time." He placed the goggles back over his face. "So _Syxxie_? When do we bring the fight them?"

"A soon as our forces regroup, and we get accurate recon."

"They won't even see it coming."

Syxx jumped onto the wing, sitting with his back against the hull. He glanced up at the crown of the palace. He stared at it long and hard. He smiled inside. He was going to get his revenge, his revenge for everyone turning their backs on him, and now most recently for taking the life of a Slayer, one of his own. A Slayer he was very close to. They would pay for that too. "_Especially that."_ He thought to himself. The vulpine leaned his head back, pointing his muzzle to the sky. The cool mist that fell onto his face, muzzle and ears, beaded over. He set his flowing tail to a rest beside him, while putting both paws behind his head.

"Oh, they know." He laughed silently in his throat, smiling ever so slightly, shutting his eyes. "She knows… _but who's got the gun now?"_


	4. First Recon

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter IV  
First Recon**

_"This walk can get lonely,_  
_I lose myself inside my head,_  
_No one can touch you when you're outside staring in,_  
_Remove myself from this rat race,_

_Back and forth the struggle consumes us all,_  
_Trying to keep a level head,_  
_In the most unsettling of times,_  
_Today I become the bull,"_

**ATREYU ****– "Becoming the Bull"

* * *

**

"Mykll, two interceptors closing in on your position, be careful."

"Roger that _Vince_. Hold fire. Do not engage enemy under any circumstances."

"Maintaining a low profile. Copy."

Mykll opened up the safeties on his boosters. He slowly maneuvered the ship around the meteor belt. The cool engine emitted a soft white glow as he feathered the throttle. He checked, and double checked all the systems as he drifted through the belt along with two other ships of his kind.

Another voice entered the communication grid. "Keep guard Slayers. Squadron of Cornerian Renegades two hundred-fifty clicks and closing. They'll be on top of us in approximately five minuets at current low burn speeds. I'll notify you if anything changes."

"Copy that _Weaver_." Mykll spoke to the female. "Alright listen up. We need to get a clear view through the field to Corneria before that patrol squadron passes through here. Let's speed it up Slayers. Check radar jammers."

The line blipped. "Roger."

Mykll pulled back the controls, pulling the Hook Echo up. The ship sliced past a meteor, and then another, and another.

Weaver spoke over the channel. "Ninety seconds until _Meteo_ break through."

"Copy."

"Sixty Seconds… Thirty Seconds… Ten seconds. We should be breaking through now- right now." Weaver let up on the accelerator. "Whoa…"

Mykll looked out into space. The blue and green planet shone in the light of Sol. There they were. He was staring at what must have been hundreds ships. There were battle ships, cruisers, flag ships and more, all flat grey in color. Half of the ships engines were lit, as they powered their way, away from the surface of planet Corneria, and out into the deepness of space. The other half of the ships remained behind. They orbited Corneria, all defending the prize. They all defended their trophy.

"Slayer's." Mykll paused. "We're witnessing the largest Cornerian ship movement on record." He stared at the swarm, slowly moving like a school of fish - all together.

Weaver's voice brought him back. "Mykll, thirty seconds to patrol contact. We need to bug out."

"Copy. Slayers, lets double time it back to Sauria. Let's tell Syxx what's going on, so we can get this operation underway."

X

Syxx sat down on the edge of the wing of his Hook Echo. He listened to Pyro. He banged away at the base of the ship. In Syxx's paw, he tossed a small orb, about the size of a softball. It was grey, and a blue light emitted from the edges, and in small spots around the ball. He waited for the recon team to return. With the help of the Aparoids he learned the secret behind slip space. He knew the secret that they possessed and how they ruptured space without the need of a gateway. He still didn't know how to use it… but he was learning the powers of the Aparoid virus.

He lobbed the orb in his paw once more and looked into the sky above the palace. He thought the clouds were about to break, but it once again looked as if it was about to start raining just as if always did. As the orb fell through the air, he swiped his paw sideways and caught it, with a hard _smack_.

Syxx pulled up his vest over his chest, placing the headset and HUD over his eye he spoke. "All points, on me." Syxx stood up on the wing and jumped down.

It didn't take long before the Slayers assembled. They were almost all back from their recon. The only ones missing were Mykll and his crew on first recon of Corneria. The Slayers assembled in a semicircle around him. The only one who didn't listen was Pyro, who was under the Hook Echo again today, trying to finish up the last of the repairs on the F1.

Syxx took a glance over the warriors. "Alright then Slayers, thanks to recon we'll have an accurate point on enemy forces." He took a breath and spoke to Pyro, speaking over his own shoulder. "Pyro, could I get an ETA on the F1?"

"Should have 'er fixed up and ready to go by the end of the day Chief."

"Good then. Tomorrow our operations begin." Syxx leaned forward and tossed the small sphere into the air with an underhand lob.

The small orb flew for a moment, and dropped to the ground, rolled and then opened in a bright flash. It emitted a bright hologram. The next moment in front of them there was a complete globe of Corneria floating in front of them. There were the vague landscapes of cities, and blue oceans. On the surface, there was also something else. On different positions of the world, there were big red _X's_.

Syxx coughed. "Corneria. No news to any of you." Syxx started to pace around the large globe of the planet. "These red X's mark Photonic Weapon sites. Corneria has five of them. There's one site on each polar cap. These are testing facilities mostly, but they each houses one WMD. Two more are located outside the super-cities, Sera and Metro. The last one is South of Corneria City, about two-hundred clicks South… just out of the blast radius of the bomb… in theory." He pointed to the city on the coast.

"So what the plan then?"

Syxx glanced at the Slayer that spoke to him. He growled and then spun back to the hologram. "Even with the Aparoids multiplying… we don't have the naval power that Corneria has."

A Slayer walked through the crowed. He wore full armor. He stood up to Syxx. They looked eye to eye, but the vulpine had to stare back at himself through the silver visor of the Vortec. The armor had short shoulder flashes, which sat in a flat black fore-drop. The vulpine stared at him for a moment longer before the Slayer reached up and slowly removed his helmet. The armor hissed at the helmet came off the head. Syxx found himself looking eye to eye with the familiar feline. His short hair drooped over his one eye, but shone with bright silver. The rest of his fur was grey.

"Welcome back _Cobalt_."

The cat smiled at Syxx. "So we are blowing them up or what?"

The vulpine spoke to Cobalt before he turned back toward the hologram of Corneria. "I was just getting to that part. The Cornerian Navy outnumbers and out powers us. The only way we can jump from Katina to Corneria is if we thin them out a little first. Each missile has an over-ride so, we don't need the presidential code, and we don't need keys. Just in put the encrypted code into the command consol and the missile will launch, and those missiles will be launched at their own fleet. Any that can't be launched… will be detonated on the planet's surface. Any questions?"

Cobalt was the first to ask. "So what? Teams of four or five?"

Syxx shook his head. "No. Teams of two." He slammed his paw down on the wing. "Pyro. Get up here."

The raccoon jumped into action. "What's up chief?"

"Cobalt." Syxx paused. "You and Reaver take an ice cap. _Blair_ and _Sierra_ will take the other one. Lisa, Devy, Luke, Max, you guys are taking the super cities. Pyro, you and I are going to take Corneria City. You'll all act as surgical strike forces." Syxx glared through the Slayers. "The rest of you… as soon as the Photonic Weapons are detonated, we attack Katina. We attack at the time that they are the weakest and the most confused. Strike teams, on me. The rest of you will be briefed later. Dismissed."

The Slayers all confirmed that they had understood their order in their own way. Syxx made the hologram shrink a little bit. He pointed at one of the red marks on the surface. "The nine of you have been selected for this mission because of your sharpened stealth abilities. I also trust that none of you will blow your cover as a Slayer. As much as this is a mission of stealth, this is also an under cover mission. You will be seen in public, and your cover must not be blown." He glanced at them. "There's no telling what the military will do to a captured renegade Slayer."

Cobalt coughed into his glove. "We're going to be sore thumbs in our Vortec's though."

"That's why we won't be using them."

Pyro cocked his head. "How are we landing then?"

Reaver agreed. "Comrade Pyro is right. Corneria's surface is locked down. Any craft that cannot identify themselves are free game to AA guns."

Pyro looked back toward Syxx. "Then what's the plan big guy?"

"Pyro, we still have captured Renegade fighters don't we?"

"Yeah, we could probably salvage ten of them if we really tried."

Syxx smiled. "Good then."

Reaver cut in again. "AA positions on the surface of Corneria will destroy Renegades."

"What's an AA gun's maximum effective range?" Syxx asked.

"Anywhere from ten to fifteen vertical kilometers, so I'd say their ceiling is no more then seventeen kilometers."

Syxx glanced at the Slayers. "Well, then, we make a jump."

"A jump?" Cobalt asked.

"That's right." Syxx said. "Each Slayer teams makes their approach, and when they hail us a signal, we ignore it, giving them clearance to shoot us down at about twenty kilometers above sea level, but before that, we bail out of the craft above the surface of the planet. When the fighters come within their range, the AA positions open fire, destroy the ships and they call it a success. Meanwhile… we float to the ground, and under go our mission."

They were all silent for a moment. Their eyes glanced around at each other, all skeptical of the idea.

Syxx growled. "Anybody have any problems with that?"

Sierra was the first to speak up. She was a grey wolf with grey hair and a stripe of blue, white, and green running across her bangs. "Syxx… that's a jump in the stratosphere, and if we don't suffocate, then we will freeze to death. We've all done high jumps in training, but none like this… especially without oxygen masks. No one has ever done a jump like that."

Syxx lifted an eyebrow. "It can be done."

Even Cobalt didn't know what to think. "Syxx… you know were behind you all the way, but how do you know that this will work?"

Syxx bared his teeth, lowering his ears at all of them. "Because I've done it before!" He calmed himself. "I'll be there with you all. I know what its like to have a commander willing to send you off to die, but I wouldn't be doing that if I'm doing the same mission. I'm going with you."

Pyro grinned. "You know what dude? If you're there, and you think it'll work… I'm one hundred percent with you."

All the other Slayers agreed.

"Good." Syxx said. "Be on stand by everyone. When the recon force returns with our intel… its time to get our operation underway."

"Comarde Syxx."

"Reaver?"

"I've got a clean line to the surface of Corneria. We can make first contact with our opposition."

Syxx smiled, showing his golden tooth. "Show me."

"Right this way Sir."

* * *

X

* * *

"_Corneria."_ Peppy thought to himself. He stared out the window of his office. It overlooked the dark streets of Corneria. Most of the windows of great towers were dark. Many homes had their blinds and curtains shut, shunning what might be lurking in the darkness out side of their homes. The curfew was followed well with such strong enforcement. Now, Corneria looked dark and frightened from what lay outside its walls.

Peppy turned to the TV. The paper flat screen arose from the surface of his desk, and flipped open. An older grey dog appeared on the screen, as the camera's zoomed in to him. "Good evening, and thanks for joining us at eleven for news hour final. Cornerian military out to protect the public? Think again. Twenty-four hours ago, it was released that the Cornerian Military and defense program had been harboring a project away from the public in order to protect itself from special interest groups. Project Slayer, had been a military program who put the most brutal training on soldiers, even to the point of death. It was in order to filter out the weak. Where did the trainees for Slayer come from? The prisons of Corneria supplied offenders who often had no family or friends beyond bars, therefore making them untimely dispensable and more likely to take risks…"

The news broadcast continued, but Peppy didn't listen. He adjusted his glasses over his nose, and put his paws behind his back. He stared out the window, when a voice came over the intercom. It was the sound of a young timid man. "Uh, General Hare Sir?"

"What is it Geoff?"

"Sir… well- uh… Sir we've made first contact."

"Contact?" He wondered allowed for a moment, then came to his senses. The hare's eyes opened as wide as they could go. "Keep that contact! No one talks to them without me there!" The old man spun around, making his way toward the door.

"Prime Minister Lionel and other members of high command have just been alerted. They'll be waiting for you in the video conference room."

The grey furred man walked out the door. "Alert them I'm on my way."

"Yes Sir."

The old man walked as fast as his old legs would carry him. He almost shoved over someone who was carrying an armful of documents. The papers flew into the air, and landed all over the hallway. Peppy didn't even stop for a moment to apologize to the young women. He stepped into the dark room. The doors closed behind him. A half dozen Lylatians sat along the edges of rectangular table. Peppy took his seat next to Corneria's Prime Minister, an orange lion with a large mane, in a black suit, with a black tie. A young fox sat next to the large video screen at the other end of the table. Over his head were a fat set of headphones and a thick mic that ran toward his muzzle. He tapped away at the key board, and dials and other instruments on a big panel.

The PM spoke in a strong deep voice. "How long until we can see them son?"

The fox's paws danced over the controls. He spun dials and flicked switches. "The frequency needs to be encrypted Sir. I'll have live feed thirty seconds. Standby."

All that could be heard was the punching of buttons. It was the longest half of a minute in Peppy's life, but soon it came time. He felt sick. His stomach filled with butterflies.

The next moment, the fox's paws stopped, and all was completely silent. The tension could be felt through a phone line. The fox's paws now slowly adjusted things. "Standby… standby." He then put his paws up to his face, resting his cheek into his palm, and his elbow on the table, the other paw still working. The large screen turned on, and held on a luminous black color. The red fox stared at his own small screen, and watched all the meters. He then pointed his paw toward the large TV. "Live AV feed online." He spun the chair he was sitting in with a flick of his foot, and leaned back, and in turn the chair leaned over, as the pivoting swing arm held him up. He crossed a leg on top of the other.

The large screen flickered. Several lines of static ran across it, but it just went back to the bright black color, like it was before.

Lionel looked at the monitor for a moment. "Son, I think you need to straighten things out a little."

The fox's chair flipped up, sending him forward. He checked all the gauges and bars. "Communication's line is green. This is a live feed. Whatever it is that we are receiving," the fox leaned back again," this is it." He pointed at the screen.

The general looked forward. "Check again."

As soon as those words came from his mouth, there was a voice that surrounded them, via the speakers. "No need."

Almost everyone in the conference room jumped. Peppy stood up from his seat leaning forward. "Show yourself."

As if on command, the picture brightened. In front of them there was a figure. All they could see were shoulders that lead up to the head, in a silhouette of glowing edges. The figure was clad in thick armor. Elegant shoulder flares of steel flashed out from deep black. They could see a silvery visor staring at them, but there was no reflection of any camera. Instead, there was a dim reflection of themselves on the corner of the mirrored mask where he watched them through a screen. There was a dialect with the way he spoke his language. It was one that invoked fear. It was one like a Russian.

Peppy took a seat once again. He sat with a straight back and tall posture. "Am I speaking with the leader and the one responsible for these attacks?"

"I'm not the leader, but am partially responsible for the hostility toward your kind. I can assure you though; I speak the voice of all my fellow comrades."

Peppy spun the chair he was sitting in. He joined his paws together at the tips. "Right. Let's get straight to the point then. What do you want?"

The figure chuckled. "We all fight for different reasons; collectively there is no one single thing that we want from your planet."

"Let's negotiate… Mr..?"

"My name isn't necessary, and times of negotiation are over. Times of peace are over. Your navy attacked us. We, now are simply are returning the favor. A preemptive assault is an act of war."

"We don't want to wage a war with you." Peppy said.

"_Haha_. You underestimate the gravity of coming events General. Corneria wasn't the first to fall, and it won't be the last."

The orange lion put his arms on the table and joined his paws together. He looked at the warrior. "What is it that you want? You want freedom?"

The Slayer laughed again. "We already have freedom."

Lionel continued negotiated. "What then? Power? Money? We are willing to sacrifice what it takes."

The warrior cocked his head slightly. "And you think this will stop the blood shed?" The room was silent before the Slayer spoke again. "_Back and forth, the struggle will consume us all, and my leader will be trying to keep a level head, but in these unsettling times… he will become the bull._"

The screen started to fill with static. Thin lines of white and black ran across the screen, moving up and down. The audio began to deteriorate.

Peppy stood up, putting both paws down firmly on the table. "Isolate that signal."

The fox spun back to his mother board of controls. "Running diagnostics. Standby." He tapped away faster, as the signal got better for a moment. "The signal is fading. Either being jammed by a third party signal or terminated. I can't tell right now, but either way, we're going to lose it."

The General turned back toward the screen. He made out the figure of the warrior as the Slayer spoke to him. "The beast is growing stronger, and it will come for you." The Slayers paused. Peppy could not longer see him. "It will… he will."


	5. Déjà vu

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter V  
**___**Déjà vu**_

"_I compromised to keep us strong,  
Re-drew the line for right & wrong,  
And it's time to get away,_

_I have taken all,  
Before I break,  
It's time I take,  
A freefall,"_

**Tracenine ****– "Freefall"

* * *

**

Syxx watched the stars outside the Renegade. A meteor swooped by the outside of the canopy. He navigated through the field. Meteo was the name of the meteor belt on the frontline of Corneria… the ribcage that protected the heart of Lylat. His ship and nine others just like his weaved through the field of meteors. Syxx had goggles placed over his forehead, and wore a thick black leather jacket, boots and a pair of black cargo pants.

He took a glance down at his radar. "Keep an eye on the scopes Slayers. We're not invisible anymore."

"Copy." Someone said.

Two meteors were closing into each other. He watched a ship burst out from behind him and weave through the two large rocks as they slammed into each other. The after burners on the small ship flared bright green as the ship accelerated. It didn't look like he was going to make it. The ship disappeared after the gap closed. Shards of stone ricochet off the rocks, and sparks glistened in the darkness.

He heard Pyro laugh.

Syxx growled. "Easy Pyro."

The coon replied. "Hah, no problem boss! Haha! Thirty seconds until Meteo breakthrough." A moment passed. "Ten seconds… Corneria should be in sight now."

Syxx was the first one to breakthrough the belt. He squinted for a moment as the bright planet Corneria reflected the powerful light of Sol onto their ships. He could see dozens of tiny grey spots floating around the planet. Those spots would later turn out to be capital ships, on patrol to guard the planet from the Aparoids. It was going to be tough to sneak past those highly guarded, weapons platforms. Syxx was at peace for a moment, but the next second, reality kicked back in.

"Syxx." Pyro heeded. "Multiple spacecraft on long range scopes; divert course two degrees right."

"Copy that." Syxx said simply.

The planet slowly got bigger as they neared. A small red light appeared on the dash of the ship. It was a communication line trying to be established between them.

Syxx's heart pounded into his ears. "We've been detected. They're hailing us now."

Pyro huffed. "_Pft!_ I got _dis_ sh-t!"

The raccoon opened the communication line. Syxx's heart continued to beat hard. He hadn't thought they would be detected so early, or even at all… at least not until they were entering the atmosphere. He never considered what they would do if that happened. And now, he turned them over to Pyro? He may have screwed this mission up before it even began. The best they could hope for was that they would be able to bug out… but trying again, would be out of the question. They'd be on watch for any unidentified shuttles after this attempt had failed. Perhaps they could get away with it though. They were, after all in Cornerian Navy Fighters, the Renegade fighter craft.

The raccoon flipped a switch and listened. "This is Cornerian Naval Vessel _Lima_. Identify yourself at once or you will be fired upon."

Pyro cleared his voice. "This is Patrol Team Whiskey. Regulatory pass through between Katina and Corneria. En'route to docking station for refueling. Call-sign: FireJack."

The line was completely silent. All the Slayers were quiet, and listened to what was going on. It was a long moment before the ship got back to them. "Call-sign approved Patrol Team Whiskey. Proceed through boarders."

"Roger that Captain." Pyro shut the channel down, and let out a huge sigh.

Syxx smiled. He looked through his lightly tinted glass window, at Pyro who flew beside him. "That was impressive."

"No problem. Anytime!" He gave thumbs up through the window and pulled away his ship.

The ships continued to get closer to the planet. A large vessel passed right over their squad. The small fighter rumbled, and Syxx could feel his teeth vibrate from the engines of the passing cruiser. The bright green flares from the engine passed over his craft.

A voice came over the channel. "Patrol Team Whiskey, keep a watch on your scopes. Imminent collision avoided. _Keelo_ out."

Pyro spoke over the channel again. "Copy." He then switched channels. "You think they would track us to the surface?"

Syxx huffed. "If they do, it's no problem. They'll shoot us down before they figure us out." He smiled. "They'll think we're dead anyways."

Pyro stared down at the scopes. "We're about to enter the orbital field. Shouldn't be long until we enter the atmosphere after that."

The ships pressed on forward. Syxx then spoke. "Insertion teams break away to designated points of entry."

"Roger that comrade Syxx." Reaver said.

The ships began to pull away from each other, each in pairs. They all pointed to their own designated areas of the planet. Each of the Slayers knew their mission well, and exactly what to do.

Syxx spoke again, giving the Slayers their last words of encouragement. "We are the most power force in the Lylat System. You are all trained to do your job with utmost precision. I know that none of you will let us down. You have the tools to complete your mission, which you all know well. _We've compromised to keep ourselves strong._ Their strike against us wasn't justified. _So now we draw the line between what's right and wrong. _ Good luck Slayers. I know you don't need it."

With that, the communications systems went down between the entire patrol, as the ships began their descent to the surface of the heart of the Lylat System.

Pyro sped up, now slightly ahead and below Syxx. "Entering atmosphere now."

Syxx watched the nose of the ship start to glow, before the entire craft was covered in a bright yellow flame. He watched the sky around him turn from a black color, to a slowly fading in blue. The blue slowly got brighter and brighter.

Pyro reported in. "Entering mesosphere. Altitude ninety kilometers."

Syxx nodded. "Disengage your safety harness. Check your chute. Make sure everything is going to operate smoothly. Don't used the ejecting seat… they might be able to detect that it went off."

"Relax Syxx." Pyro laughed. "Just like we practiced, right?"

"Don't get cocky."

"Always am." He then paused, watching his altimeter drop. "Eighty kilometers."

An alarm went off in the cab of the Renegade. He was waiting for this. "They've detected us entering the atmosphere. They're hailing us. Don't answer it. Ignore it."

"Got it." Pyro replied quickly.

They kept watching as their altimeters went down. They didn't say much to each other. Syxx could tell Pyro was a little nervous, but so was he. There wasn't a cloud in the sky it looked like. As their altitude dropped further, he could see a layer of frost appearing over the leading edges on the wing as the fire disappeared.

It was finally time. Pyro read the meter. "Altitude twenty-five clicks! Are you ready?"

"Born ready." Syxx said. He watched the last few numbers go down. Another alarm blared. This one was loud though. A red light lit up brightly in the cab. "Pyro, we're being painted."

"You don't have to tell me!" He laughed. "Then I'd say we are in range."

Syxx took a deep breath. "Alright Pyro. See you on the surface. Good luck."

The coon bared his teeth, and sank in. "Let's- DO THIS!!!" He roared.

Syxx placed the goggles over his head. He pulled the Mapaw off from his side. Then he set the ship on autopilot. Syxx growled. He leaned back and set his boots on the canopy of the Renagade. Syxx aimed the weapon at one of the hinges and pulled in the trigger. The ship hissed, more alarms sounded. Ice-cold air poured through the leak in the seal. He fired three more times, at the edges of the canopy and watched it crack. Syxx took one last deep breath of air, put his back into the seat, and gave the canopy a kick with his boot hearing the cab's class crack open.

The glass roof flew open, shattering in the air. Everything became a black, blue blur. As soon as he saw the roof fly off, he himself was sucked out of the cab, and into the cold air. He instinctively took a breath of air in shock, but there was little to breathe. His body was limp for a moment, before he could get his bearings. He flipped himself around, so he could fall belly first. The fox put out his arms and legs, stabilized his flight. He located his rip cord, and this time he made the fall, everything was actually in order.

He forgot about one aspect. The AA guns. His world erupted once again. The air sounded as if it were being ripped and torn apart around him. Quick slicing shots burned past him. He could see bright flashes past left and right of him. He watched below him. The Renegade flew straight until a shot hit it directly on. An explosion rumbled the air, and superheated the atmosphere around him. The shock pounded into Syxx's body. It took the breath away from Syxx. Sharp shrapnel pierced into his hide. Syxx yelled as he tumbled through the air once more. His vision was tunneled, and he was confused. The shock of the Renegade exploding spun him, and socked his body. The world went hot black, before he realized he was falling through the smoke of the wreckage.

With one growl, he regained power and control to his body. He spun himself in the air pointing his nose straight down, putting his arms at he sides, flying straight down, spinning. He flew like a missile, before putting out one paw and falling perfectly flush again. Off to his far right he saw the exact same thing happen. A burst of fire and flame as whizzing rounds shot past. He couldn't hear the explosion because of the wind going by his ears, but he felt it hit his body.

The only thing he could think. "_Pyro."_ He hoped that he made it out.

He pulled himself toward the flying wreckage. His eyes searched around the sky below him, and all around him. He pointed himself straight down. He kept searching, until he saw a spinning, tumbling object. He pulled himself toward it, pushing down hard. He neared the object. He was right. It was Pyro. His limp body spun in the air, twisting and tumbling at the mercy of the winds. The fox slowly neared him, ensuring that he wouldn't get hit by a flailing limb.

Syxx quickly snatched him after getting a boot to the face. He wrapped his arms around the other mans torso. Syxx stopped the twirling, but they kept spinning, slowly, but speeding up. Syxx held him with one arm and tapped his head. His eyes were open, behind his goggles, but he wasn't moving. The next second, Pyro blinked, and started moving. Syxx let him go. The coon spun and tumbled for just a moment, and then he evened his flight by putting out his arms and legs.

They communicated through paw gestures. Syxx looked below. He could see Corneria City on the horizon. They didn't want to land close to there. He told Pyro with his paws to follow him. Syxx turned them toward a place where they would be close to shore, but out of Corneria City skies. They had to open low… really low. He felt the air getting warmer as they fell. He didn't want to open his chute as low as he did last time. That was too close.

Syxx turned his body to Pyro. He put out his paw and counted with his fingers. _Three… two… one._

At _one_ Syxx opened his chute. The bag on his back blew apart. In a moment, Pyro accelerated past him. Syxx felt the chute pull on his shoulders. He slowly watched the water come toward him. But before he hit the surface, he ejected from the chute, falling the last five meters into the water. He even felt his boots hit the bottom of the sandbar that they managed to land on. He bent his knees and shot himself back upwards to the surface. He threw his head back and took a deep breath of air. He ripped the goggles off his head, and let them sink to the bottom.

He heard another object _plunk_ into the water. The shadow of the parachute flew over his head, and landed near his. Pyro jumped up a moment later. He took a deep breath, and coughed up some water.

Syxx coughed too. "You alright?" He swam over to the other man.

Pyro pulled his goggles off from over his eyes, and set them on his forehead. "Best… best drop I've ever done."

"_Nothing like a freefall."_ Syxx looked toward the shore. "Right then. On the ocean, you can't see past the horizon of the water past eight kilometers. The planets surface is too round. Shouldn't be further then five clicks to the shore. We're on a sandbank here, so the water is going to get deeper before it gets shallower."

Pyro's wet ears drooped. "Great." He shook his head, water droplets sprinkled around.

They slowly started swimming toward the shore. The fox thought about the last time he made this swim. This one seemed easier. He was stronger, and had even more endurance now. Even though the heavy jacket, his gun, the Nigh Knife, the pants and boots weighed him down, he remained strong. He knew what to expect this time. He shook his head too, getting the water out of his ears. They were swimming slowly but they were making good miles, as the tide was in their favor. It didn't feel that long until Syxx took a long reach down. His boot scratched the bottom of the sandbank, and the other one made contact. Syxx let his muscles rest as he fought the water, walking along the bottom. Pyro had to swim a little farther before he could touch the bottom.

Syxx hadn't realized how exhausted he was until he crawled up on to the shore. The first step he took on to the beach, he collapsed. His boot sunk into the sand, and lost its stability. The fox fell onto his side, plowing his shoulder into the fine grit. All the sand stuck to his wet clothing. Pyro lay down beside him. He crunched up his face, and spat out red salt water onto the sand.

The raccoon looked at Syxx. Pyro gave out a short chuckle.

"What?" Syxx asked.

"You look like f-ck-ng sh-t." He laughed while speaking.

"Get a mirror."

Syxx glanced over his comrade's muzzle. Blood spotted his face, and ran thin streaks across his grey fur. The water wasn't enough to wash the freeze dried blood over his muzzle out of his fur. Syxx looked at his own body. The cuffs of his pants were ripped and torn. Syxx took the leather jacket off and tossed it onto the sand. It had a few little holes scattered through it, but, still salvageable… it would have to be. He wiped the sand off his boots that seemed burnt from something… maybe that stray AA fire got closer to him then he thought. The laces were twisted and hardened, and the leather coating was rippled and flaking away from the toe. He pulled the Mapaw out of its holster, and tossed it into the sand, right beside Pyro's. He placed his left paw onto his hip, checking for the knife, which was still there as well.

The fox put his head down onto the sand, and rolled onto his back. He grabbed the jacket, and bunched it up before placing it under his head. He watched the sky glow. The sun was just coming up. The air was cool, but warming up, and the sun against he black fur was tepid.

Pyro turned on his back too. "What now _Syxxie?_"

"There's a small county road, just east of here. Just through that forest. That'll take us north to the city."

"How do you know all this?"

Syxx thought quickly. "I used to live out this way… before Slayer."

"Why should we go to the city? The photon site is only a buck fifty south of here right?"

"Well unless you want to spend a night in the woods, while the other Slayers get into position, then I say we get a hotel."

"You got cash Syxx?"

"I'll take care of things."

"Right." He paused. "You know Syxx… I never thought that was going to work, I mean we never did it in Slayer training. How'd you know that it'd work? You know, when you did it before?"

The vulpine stared over the horizon. "I didn't know it would work." He spoke with a completely emotionless look on his face. "You remember Fox McCloud? StarFox?"

"Yeah. I remember. Died just before we got drafted into Slayer. I remember seeing the fireball above Corneria City that day." Pyro propped himself up, glancing at Syxx as the Fox stared out across the ocean. "Why?"

"Let's just say… I learned a lot from that man."

"What!?! What, you knew him?"

Syxx sighed. "Yeah… I guess you could say that."

Pyro set his head back down onto his paws over the sand. "I bet you and him f-ck-ng got along. You're not like him… you'd be like… the _Anti-Fox_."

"Yeah… I am." Syxx lifted himself to his feet. He rinsed the jacket in the water; he cleaned his face and arms. He pulled his black tail around to the front of him. The fur was still clean and silky black. He picked some frayed hairs out of the white tip on his tail. The fox then once again let his tail go, and flow freely behind him. Syxx tossed the black leather jacket over his shoulder, letting it drip onto his chest and a dirty white T-shirt. He held up the large pistol next to his muzzle with a single paw. "Ready up."

Pyro did. "At least the hard part is over."

"I wouldn't say so. I'd say we're just beginning."

"Alright _Syxxie_."

Syxx stepped into the forest. "Then let's move."

"Cool! We need wheels when we get to the road though."

"Let's keep a low profile. Ok Pyro? Last thing we need is to be booked."

"Whatever you say chief. Hey man. We got a night in Corneria. _Heh_!" His eyes snapped open, and looks of realization cover his face. "We get to go to the bar!"


	6. Disclosure

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter VI  
Disclosure**

"_Back forth you wander,  
Through your mind,  
Winter's passing over,  
But it will find you,_

_Take what you can,  
Change the seasons,_

_Isolate yourself and,  
You will find,  
There's no rhyme or reason,  
That it will find you._

_Take what you can,  
Change the seasons,  
Changing all the seasons,"_

**The Veer Union **_**– "Seasons"

* * *

**_

Over the past few years the dreams that had dissipated, were coming back more and more frequently to Krystal now. She had problems sleeping at night again. Her minds eye clouded with visions of violence, planetary stress and endangerment… and Syxx. She gathered the strength to get herself out of the bed, and put a white robe over her shoulders. She tied it tight around her waist. The fabric followed the curvaceous shape of her body. The fox made her way to the kitchenette in the hotel room. The coffee automatically brewed itself at a certain time, and was already prepared for her when she entered the kitchen.

She took a sip of the hot liquid. The blue vixen remembered the first time that she tried coffee, when she was with Fox. Krystal never had caffeine on her planet, and Fox explained that because it was foreign to her, her system would be super sensitive to it. Of course, she hadn't found that out until after she drank down a whole cup. Fox explained to her, what might bring him to _normal_ in the morning, would have her bouncing off the walls in no time. It was the same thing with alcohol. It took her a while to build tolerance to the substances. She was still what Falco called a _light weight_. She never got a clear meaning of what it meant, and even though she had been familiarized with Lylatian culture for many years now, there were a lot of things that she still didn't know about, and more things she still didn't understand

The blue vulpine yawned. He blue tail wagged around, poking out from underneath the robe. She placed the coffee down on the counter. The vixen cocked her head at the blank television screen. She wondered to herself for a moment. The fox glanced around, as if someone were looking. Her eyes then closed, and she placed her paw tips on the temples of her head. Thousands of images went through her mind. She focused on one. One small square button, the largest one on the front of the TV set. She could hear herself thinking as her humming echoed through her head. She was lost in a world of her own, in pure concentration.

Krystal jumped, and snapped out of her spell. The TV set snapped, and powered on. The slight headache that she gave herself doing it retreated with the caffeine she was getting into her system. She smiled, pleased with herself. Her telekinetic power was increasing exponentially now, but it would only get so strong; maybe enough that one day to pull a glass across the counter. That wasn't what she wanted the power for though. She wanted to make her sixth sense stronger.

The TV quickly powered up. She came into the middle of the news, which now, was on every station in the morning. "… at six-am this morning. Cornerian defenses opened fire on unidentified craft. It is now believed that craft were friendly, but this is not confirmed at this time. Several other sites around the globe also opened fire on entering shuttles. All have confirmed that their targets have been destroyed, and there cannot possibly be any survivors. More on this story as it develops. Moving onto weather, it looks like we're going to see some rain late this afternoon. A heavy warm front in moving in from the off the coast, bringing with it, some areas of the city could see up to twenty-five centimeters of downpour between tonight and early tomorrow morning before curfew is lifted, when the rain will let up. Areas outside the city are being warned of flash flooding…"

Krystal drank the coffee. She thought about how Fox made it look real when his Arwing burned up in the atmosphere. His death was authentic. She wondered if the same thing happened here. Maybe he did it again… to look real. She then shook her head. "_They said there weren't survivors… but that's what they thought last time."_

She looked at her schedule for the day, on the computer she wore on her wrist. Nothing exciting once again. Falco was working on getting their Arwings repaired, and flagship plans built for them… again so they could fight in the war. Maybe Katt would go shopping with her today, and tonight, she would go to that same old pub again, have a drink or two, and walk back to the hotel again. Same old same old.

* * *

X

* * *

Syxx pushed the glazed sunglasses up over his nose. He loved this hotel. A nice modest place, but high in luxury and view of the ocean or view of deep downtown, the clock tower and what not. He'd been here many times before. Pyro stood next to him. The raccoon bent his side onto the table. He had one arm placed onto the dark granite counter top. He picked at his teeth with a tooth pick he swiped from the restaurant in the lobby.

Syxx spoke to the neatly dressed femme feline at the counter. "You guys do cash? Or card only?"

She smiled at him. "We accept cash, but if that's the case, any service charges like, room service will have to be paid for on the spot. Oh and yes, a five hundred credit damage deposit, if that's going to be with debit or cash."

"Great." Syxx reached into the side pocket on the jacket. He pulled out a colorful wad of bills, compressed together in a money clip. He pawed over a large amount of credits, but not even close to half of how much was really there in his paw. "How far will this get us?"

Pyro glanced at the money being passed across the counter. "Where in the h-ll did you get all that!"

Syxx answered simply. "_Erhm_, drug money."

Pyro narrowed his brow. "Oh a wise a-s huh?"

"D-mn rights."

"Fine then. Don't tell me."

The feline's eyes even widened at the sight of all the raw cash. She quickly flipped through it. She nodded in approval. "That'll be a single night stay for the both of you, in the master suite. There is only one bed though in-"

Syxx cut her off. "That's fine. _RJ_ loves couches."

Syxx felt Pyro glare and him, and heard him mumble under his breath. "You're a f-ck-ng a-s."

She gave two key cards. "Who should this name be under? Do you have any identification?"

Syxx crossed his arms over the table. "Uhh, just make it out to Cliffy P."

"Alright Mister _Cliff_. Thank you. Enjoy your stay, and unlimited access to our facilities. Can I get someone to help you with your bags…?" She peaked over the desk, to see no luggage. "Oh… Umm…"

"Don't worry about it." Syxx flicked his fingers, and the two cards stacked on top of each other split. He tossed it at Pyro, and without even looking the coon caught it between his two fingers as it spiraled. "You get the couch there _bandit_."

He rolled his eyes. "I heard you the first time."

Syxx took a step away from the desk, before leaning back to the counter. "Oh and could you tell me if there's a Falco, or a Krystal staying at this particular hotel?"

"I'm sorry Sir. I cannot release that information. Are you related to either of these persons? In that event, if they are here, I can alert them of your presence, if you'd like."

"Nah, just don't worry about it." The undercover Slayers made their way to the elevator. "Here." Syxx reached into his pocket again. He pulled out his cash, and flipped through it. He passed over some of the bills to Pyro.

The coon snatched the money. He too flipped through it. "Thanks man… three hundred credits?"

"Don't spend it all in one place. I can't believe they let us in with what we are wearing now. That should be enough for booze money too right?"

Pyro pocketed the money. "It f-ck-ng better be unless liquor tax went up some more. And it always does."

Syxx pressed the button on the elevator again. The green _up_ arrow lit again. He watched the indicator on the top of the doors go down, slowly. He could feel something wrong, his ears twitched, and his tail wagged. Something wasn't right. His eyes shifted left and right, his own senses tingling. "Stay here Pyro." Syxx walked around the corner, opening the doors to the stairwell, and disappearing.

Pyro put his paws out in front of him as the door closed behind Syxx. "What the f-ck?" A look of confusion covered his face.

The elevator _dinged_. Pyro put his paws down. He stepped aside from the elevator doors. The doors parted out. When they were open, there was only one person in the elevator. A girl dressed in what appeared to be a blue jumpsuit. Her hair folded onto her shoulders, and black boots made clad her legs, and her white tipped tail rested beside her. The blue fox girl didn't get out of the elevator. Not right away anyway. She stood there, staring at Pyro, with her eyes and soul.

A spark of anger flowed through Pyro's mind. He had always been impatient with people. "Uhh… are you getting out, or what?"

The vixen cocked her head, as if she just came back to reality. "Oh, yes. Sorry." She still stared at the raccoon. Krystal usually didn't have a problem just walking on by people, but she sensed something different about this one. She could sense familiarity in his face, and in his very presence, just like she had met him before. She rolled her claw tips into her palms, thinking.

The man narrowed his eyes. "What the f-ck are you looking at!"

She narrowed her eyebrows "Nothing. I just thought I recognized you from somewhere." The vixen stared into his eyes. "What's your name?"

"RJ. Who the f-ck are you?"

"I'm Krystal, and you know, you're very rude Mister RJ. You should really be more polite, especially to strangers." She smiled. "Sometimes, you don't know who you're dealing with."

"Yeah. I'd say." Pyro's remark secretly stronger.

The vixen glared. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

"Nope, and I'm comfortable with who I am."

The fox looked at his ripped and torn clothing. "What happened to you?"

"Tough day at the office." The raccoon rolled his eyes. "Ok, let's try this polite thing like you said." He sounded himself in a mocking voice. "Excuse me, Miss Krystal, but can you move your sh-t please?"

Krystal stepped out of the elevator. "Pardon me?"

"I said; please get your sh-t in gear."

She growled at him, giving up, having enough time wasted already. "Have a good a day." She said aggressively, and mockingly.

Pyro stepped into the elevator. He crossed his paws over one another at his chest, after pressing a button on the inside of the elevator. "Bite me _toots_."

The raccoon looked out through the cracks in the doors. A shocked and angry look cast over the blue fox's face. Her teeth were bared and her ears flattened against her skull. "WHAT DID YOU JUST-" the doors closed. The elevator started to go upward.

Pyro shook his head and talked to himself. "Jeeze what a b-tch." He thought about Syxx. "F-ck-ng foxes."

The elevator stopped on the first floor. Pyro checked his room number. He was on the fourteenth floor. The doors opened, and all was silent. The coon walked over to the switch board. He glared at it for a moment, and put out his claw tip. He pressed the button "14" as fast he could. The doors began to slide closed after a moment. They were almost shut, when a black paw appeared between them with a hard _slam_, and pulled them open. Syxx stepped into the elevator.

"Dude? What the hell?" Pyro gave him a stressed look. "You left me hanging!"

"You're a big boy."

"Whatever." Pyro went over to the controls again and pressed the correct number. "You'll never guess what just happened to me."

Syxx started out the glass window of the elevator that overlooked the ocean as they got higher up. "What's that?"

"Some lady comes out of the elevator, just stands there and looks at me. Doesn't move out or do anything. Just looks at me, and asks me a bunch of redundant questions, like she almost knew who I was."

Syxx leaned over on the handrails. "So, who was she?"

"I didn't know her! She said her name was… I think it was _Krista_ or something like that. I don't know, I wasn't listening. She kinda' looked like that chick on Sauria we _exported_."

Syxx glanced at Pyro. His gaze then fell to the floor and to look back away. "No kidding."

"Man, I tell _ya'_, I can't stand f-ck-ng stupid people. Stupid people drive me nuts."

* * *

X

* * *

Krystal slammed her paw on the silver elevator doors. She then watched the numbers on the top illuminate until they reached the fourteenth floor.

She spoke to herself through girt teeth, softly but fiercely. "I can't believe that guy! He's even worse than Falco!" She slammed her paws on the elevator door once more. She was going to get him. She was going to demand an apology from him. She looked at the computer on her wrist. There wasn't time for it now. It would have to wait. She was meeting Katt at the corner coffee shop in five minuets.

With one last and quick snarl, she walked away. She had a mental track on the man. She was going to go back later and find him. There was no one else with him… at least she could sense that much. There was only one being in this universe that she could no longer sense and he was hundreds of millions of miles away right now.

* * *

X

* * *

The rain came right on time. The warm evening sun disappeared behind a thick dark blanket of rumbling clouds. Light flashed from within the front. It wasn't long until the air filled with heavy droplets of water. Some gutters in the streets began to fail and large puddles of water appeared over the roads at corners. Many citizens disappeared, and called it an early night, retreating to their homes even before the curfew came into effect. The street lights had not yet come on.

Krystal covered herself with her paws above her head as she ran into doors of the hotel. Katt ran in right behind her. The vixen shook her head, sending water fly off her fur.

Katt did the same thing. "I hate water!"

They made their way to the elevator. Krystal pressed the buttons on the display. "It was still a nice day."

Katt set her bag on the floor of the elevator. "Yeah, that's true." The elevator came to a stop on the fourteenth floor, and Krystal stepped out.

Katt cocked her head. "What are you doing?"

Krystal stopped right outside the door. "I just have to talk to someone here. You go on without me. Maybe I'll see you later for a coffee or something alright?"

Katt gave her a confused look. "Alright. Sure Krystal." She smiled.

With that the doors shut. Krystal listened to the elevator pull Katt up to the levels above. It was then completely silent. Thunder crashed on the outside the hotel. Her telepathic sense could feel its raw power all around her. She could sense something else too. She could sense that rude man and she could feel that she was getting closer. The little blue fox slowly stepped down the long and silent hallway.

She looked at each door. She concentrated before she moved on to the next one, to see if he was in there. She finally came to one door, and came to a complete stop. The vixen turned, and stared at it. This was the one. This was the room that harbored that man; the one that she had confronted in the elevator earlier in the day. She paused, and turned her body to the door, making her shoulders perfectly square. She then knocked, three times hard… and waited.

She heard a voice come from the other side of the door. "Who is it?"

"The women you ran into earlier today." She replied in a serious tone.

The voice came again after a long pause. "You're going to have to be a little more specific."

"Krystal!"

"Who?"

"Krystal! It's Krystal!" She snapped back in snarl.

"Dave?" Another pause. This one short. "Dave's not here man."

"Stop it! I just need to talk to you a moment, Mister RJ." She tried to calm herself.

It was completely silent. She never got a reply. So Krystal knocked again.

The voice came back. "Who is it?"

She slammed her fist on to the door. "You know who it is!"

"Who?"

It was silent for another moment. The door then slowly _creaked_ open; just enough so there was a thin crack between it, and the door mount.

She saw an eye peek through the opening. "What do you want?"

"I want an apology for this morning."

The masked raccoon eye stared at her. "What if I'm not sorry?"

"Then I come inside, and demand it."

The man's eye went away, and then came back, as if he had leaned in, to talk to someone. "Well I'm not opening the door."

Krystal lost her patients with the man. She gave the door a quick shove, and it stop only after traveling a small amount farther. The chain and lag bolt locked the door open only so far.

The man rolled his brown eyes. "If your going the be that way about it, just give me a second."

The door then shut in her face. The sounds of metal sliding milled through the door. It sounded like he was cleaning up something. She could hear him rattling through things. The door then opened. The raccoon in blue jeans and a dirty and ripped black T-shirt stood in front of her.

Krystal stepped into the doorway, glancing through the room. "Who were you talking to?"

"Let's just get this over with." He swallowed hard, and spoke through bared teeth, and growled. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not leaving until it sounds sincere."

The raccoon rolled his eyes, and turned stepping toward the kitchen table. "I gave you what you wanted, now please get out."

"Get back here!"

The raccoon froze. "Look, I'm sorry. Now please go." Her turned around and looked at her, before proceeding into the room. "Get out of here while you still can."

"What?" Krystal asked.

"Just go." The man walked away. "I'm telling ya'."

"Wait one second you!" Krystal grasped his left shoulder. Her grip on his arm slipped down to his shirt. The weakened, battered and burnt material was weak from fire and decay from salt water. The material ripped. The sleeve of the shirt split right off from the rest of the fabric. Krystal winced. "Oh! I'm so sorry I-"

She froze, stopping herself, staring a white star placed over grey fur on the mans shoulder side. She dropped the broken sleeve to the floor. Her heart stopped beating. Her memories flashing back, she remembered herself as Kursed. The vixen thought back to the tortures that she had preformed on her victims. She remembered when she had found Syxx, roving around the ship. Before she had found out whom he was and inspected his equipment, she examined the star that was tattooed across his shoulder side. The star was marked across the gear that he possessed… the same one this man had… in the same place as Syxx's.

Her eyes were wide, fear across her face, even a tear falling down her fur. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, he tail straight. The symbol of a killer, the score of the betrayed … and the stain of a Slayer. Her bottom jaw quivered, and she tried to take a step back. She heard the door behind her slip shut, and lock, with a smooth _click_. She couldn't move. Her body froze in horror.

The vixen stared at the man while he reached into the fridge. As he leaned down she saw the Mapaw at his hip, marked with a black blade star. He put his spoon in a small cup, and shoveled the food into his mouth. The man known to her as _RJ_ spoke with food in his mouth. "Well… I warned you." He leaned over on the counter and kicked the fridge shut.

A voice came from behind her; a sinister deep voice that she had grown to fear, and a presence that she could never detect. "What's wrong Krystal? It looks like you've seen a ghost?" She didn't need to look to see who it was. She knew that dark voice.

She couldn't tell what happened after that. She had no idea if she had been knocked unconscious, or out of shock, she had blacked out. After that, all seemed dark, and all seemed quiet. The trademark relic of the Slayer.

A voice echoed through her head even through the blackness. "_Back and forth you wander, through your mind. Its all passing over… but winter can find you… it will find you."_


	7. Apocalyptic Love Songs

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter VII  
Apocalyptic Love Songs**

"_The pain that you put me through,  
It's nothing to forget,  
But I survived the fall,  
And I'm not dead yet!_

_Now, in the arms of the enemy,  
Keep them close,  
So close just in front me,  
Now the only thing I need is time,_

_The cold inside this world,  
Has made this strong,  
But I refuse to move,  
You can hide no more!_

_Now, in the arms of the enemy,  
Keep them close,  
So close just in front me,  
Now the only thing I need is time,_

_Once I believed,  
That peace would make this right,  
Now I can see,  
All I need time,_

_Down, Down,  
Down with the enemy,  
Down!"_

**Destrophy**** – **_**"Arms of the Enemy"

* * *

**_

It started with darkness. Complete blackness all around her. The small fox couldn't see anything. She spun around, making herself dizzy in the complete darkness, and losing her balance. Her ears dropped and fear quickly set in, consuming her. Her blue tail tucked between her legs, and she put her paws to her muzzle. She whimpered in fear. Her ears listened, but there was silence, and emptiness. She froze, trying not to whine. She listened to herself breathe, and she listened to her heart beat in her ears.

The ground beneath her began to shake, and rumble. The darkness dissipated with one single flash of blinding white light. The crack of a thousand thunderbolts sounded at once, sending an echo through the atmosphere. The world around her was illuminated, and she screamed as the blinding light cast over her. The landscape around her faded in, quickly. She shielded herself from the source of the light, putting her forearm out in front of her face. The light slowly faded, and she looked at what was around her. She saw a massive mushroom cloud in the sky, still bright with energy, and resonating the atmosphere.

Her jaw dropped in shock. Before she could react, she heard a loud _whooshing_. Like a strong wind was coming this way. The vixen froze, once more, no knowing what to do, but before she was able to make a decision, she felt an extreme heat all around her. She saw a wave of shock slice through buildings in front of her. As the wave made its way toward her, it shattered every window along the wake, sending glass everywhere. The shock wave cut through the air. Towers and buildings disintegrated near their peaks, as they crumbled.

Debris filled the air, as the wave race toward her. She didn't even have time to react before the wave crushed the buildings around her. She grit her teeth and closed her eyes and waited… but it never came. She opened her eyes in horror. She was untouched, but the world around her was in chaos. The air was filled with floating debris, and a swift wind still carried it toward her, away from the blast. Some buildings fell to the ground in a pile of rubble, others still stood, but were scarred by the blast, and more still were heavily damaged with steel steaks and frames showing. The streets were filled with junk, and wreckage, and the air was filled with dirt and dust. Swift wind carried dust away from the blast, and sand blasted her fur.

But what broke her heart the most was the sky. She was able to ignore all around her if it were not from the sky. Whispers of the mushroom cloud still remained in the sky where the blast had gone off, hundreds of kilometers away. But the sky above and around her was blood red, and the normally white puffy clouds were now dark black streaks in the sky. The sky looked as if it was bleeding and it tore her in two.

She stood, stunned. All was silent, except for the rushing of the winds past her. The next time she blinked, she saw figures appear in the dust. They started as shadows, and but soon faded into her view. There were a lot of them. They all walked up the street toward her. When they walked through the dirty air, she could see them. All wore valiant armor, with shoulder flares, and silver helmets. Some carried rifles, and a few carried oversized swards, with large serrated edges. They kept walking, until the one in the center put up his paw, and they all stopped, and stared at Krystal.

Krystal's heart began to beat even harder, as they stared. As she stood, she heard something behind her. She spun around just in the nick of time, to feel the ground shake, and see a battle tank plow through the edge of a building, and two more appear, one plowing through wrecked cars on the street, the other knocked down one of the few remained light posts. The first appearing battle tank turned its turret as the plasma engines whined. The cannon on the tank moved upward, and the barrel glowed bright blue, before sending a directed fireball of white plasma toward the other warriors. The ball slammed into a building, bringing it to the ground. Discharging sparks diffused around the blast. Right after the first tank fired, the others did, as more rolled in. Dozens of infantry soldiers flooded the area, shouting commands and tactics.

The super soldiers split when the first shot went off. Before Krystal knew it, she was standing in the middle of a war. This time, she didn't freeze. This time she ran. The air around her erupted in a hail of fire and hell, but still, she ran. Tears of fear clouded her vision, as she ran with her paws over her head. She took a few more long strides, and fell to the pavement. She quickly crawled under a large delivery truck. A semi.

She watched and listened. The air in front of her was a flurry of silver streaks, green shots and blue blasts. She listened to the soldiers, as the sounded far off and muffled by gun fire, and explosions

"_Changing mag!"_

"_Hostile! Roof top! Left!"_

"_Gun Ready!"_

"_Fire!"_

She heard the skies above the battle howl, as enemy ships engaged each other. Many were Aparoidian constructs though. She could tell. The vixen heard one ship scream above her, making a low pass, the ground rumbled as it dropped its payload.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, as she watched one of the blue and silver tanks aim its cannon at her. For a moment it charged, as light built around the barrel. Then the tank thumped, and a blazing ball of plasma rushed toward her, she covered her eyes in a dying breath.

* * *

X

* * *

Krystal opened her eyes, and jumped. She was once again in darkness. The vixen took a huge sigh of relief "_A dream… a bad dream."_ She tried to remember what happened. She was sitting in a chair, which was as much as she knew. She tried to move her paws apart from each other, but they were bound together behind her. A piece of cloth had been tied around her head, cutting back into her mouth, and her back teeth. She grunted as she tried to break free, and that was when the light turned on. She whined as her world went blinding, she found herself staring at a corner of a room, where two walls met.

She continued to struggle until she heard a voice. "Consider this payback for what happened on Kew."

Krystal froze, now completely still and silent. She remembered everything. She already knew who this was. The vixen tried to scream, but her attempts were dampened by cloth tied through her mouth. She groaned in a high pitch, now thrashing, and struggling violently, trying to break free. She shook her head; tears coming to her eyes, in disbelief, as she panicked. He was here… on Corneria.

She stopped moving as a cool blade touched her neck. "Will you scream if I let you free?" The voice paused. "If you scream, you will die."

She let her head droop, and shook. She hummed. "_Mm-mh_."

"Good." He turned the knife and she quivered, but he her free, and stepped away, backward into the room.

The white cloth fell to the floor. Krystal growled. "You're a piece of work _Fox._"

The vulpine yipped as she heard air being cut, and an object flying quickly through the atmosphere. It sliced into the wall with a quick _thud_. She looked to her right slightly, to see a knife, buried half deep into the wall. A knife that had passed millimeters from her head, now stuck into the wall.

"Rule number one Krystal. Never call me by that name." The voice rumbled. The chair was spun around and he looked her dead in the eye, muzzles nearly touching. He pulled the blade from the wall, holding it at her chin. "You should know that by now."

"I don't know what you're doing but you're not going to get away with it! Forget it Syxx! I know how you got on this planet. The same way you did it last time!"

"_The pain that you put me through, is nothing to forget, and I survived the fall, I'm not dead yet_."

The only way she could answer was in a growl.

"It's too late already _Krys_. You've lost." Syxx pulled the blade away, putting it to his side and out of her sight.

He spun the chair so she could see the rest of the dark hotel room. Krystal wondered where the other man was, noticing Syxx was the only one in the room. "Your pal. He's a Slayer too."

"Bravo." He said sarcastically, as he rooted around in the kitchenette, where she couldn't see him.

Krystal thought inside her head. "_He won't get away with this. Someone's going to stop him._"

Syxx spoke from across the room. "I wouldn't count on it." He was doing something, but she couldn't see.

The vixen snapped her head up. "What!" she stared at him with wide eyes. "What did you just say?"

Just then the door to the hotel room opened. Krystal had no idea what time it was. All she knew was, it was dark out.

Syxx tossed the man a large pistol. "Ready up."

The raccoon rolled it into his holster. "Let's hit 'em low." He replied.

Syxx pulled the black jacket over his shoulders. He stepped over Krystal, spinning the chair around on the floor. She managed to hiss at him, but before she was able to say anything else, without warning, Syxx tied the cloth around her head, and through her teeth. Syxx quickly removed his paw as she tried to bite him. Krystal's attention was altered as she looked outside to a dim glow on the horizon, over the ocean. It must have been morning.

Syxx tied the knot. "The service comes by around ten usually." Syxx stepped back, and gave the chair a hard kick. It fell over with Krystal attached to it. She screamed in the back of her head. Her skull cracked the floor with a hard hit. Her world darkened, as stars spun round. "That ought to give you enough time to think about what you've done to Corneria."

The last thing Krystal heard was the door close behind him, and the second that it did, she started weeping. Tears collected around the floor in front of her muzzle, mixed with the blood of a cut lip. She whined and whimpered, gasping for air as she continued to cry.

Syxx closed the door behind himself. The Slayer pair quickly walked down the hall toward the elevator. They stepped out the door of the hotel a short while later. The curfew had just been lifted at this time. Syxx had just learned about the curfew the other night, why Pyro almost got caught coming home late from the bar.

They hailed a cab, and stepped into it. It was fairly large. There were two rows of seats in the back that sat facing each other. Syxx opened the window between himself and driver. The window separated the inside of the car in two. The driver was an older possum. He had a brown cap and it looked like he had been doing the job for a long time.

He answered in a scratchy voice. "Where to _mac_?"

Syxx's gold tooth glistened in the brightness of the dash board lights. "Gotta' go to Carmen. You know where that is?"

"Yeah I know where that is, but I don't go that far." He looked at Syxx through the rearview mirror.

The vulpine leaned through the window. He reaching into his jacket, and pulled out his wallet. He flipped through it with a claw tip. The vulpine didn't say anything, and handed the man a piece of paper. The possum turned on the dome light, and held the paper up to the light, investigating its qualities.

He slipped the bill into his front pocket. "We'll have you there in a hour and a half son."

"Appreciate it." Syxx closed the tinted window between the cabby and the passengers. The cab started to move forward, and before they knew it, the Slayers were on the road.

Pyro didn't worry about putting on his seatbelt and neither did Syxx. The coon lay down across one seat, propping his head against the window. "What'd you tell him?"

"Nothing." Syxx did the same thing, opposite of Pyro. "It's what I gave him."

"Generous tip?"

Syxx stared past his feet and out the window. "Gave him one-thousand credits to take us that far."

Pyro nearly jumped out of his fur. He spoke through grit teeth. "A thousand bones!"

The vulpine didn't look at Pyro. He continued to watch the sun start to come up. "Let him have it. It won't be much good to anyone pretty soon."

Pyro agreed, but he didn't say anything. He just watched other cars drive by. "So… how we gonna' do this?"

Syxx reached into his pocket, and tossed a small flash drive through the air. "Catch."

Pyro snatched it out of the air without looking. He felt it in his paw before he looked at it. "A chip?"

"It's infected by the Aparoids. The virus will go in and do its job. This'll launch the missile three minuets after infection. Only catch is… we have to find a terminal directly on the missile, which means that we have to get the h-ll out of the silo before it fires or-"

"Or we're both French fries." Pyro tossed the device back.

Syxx put it back into his pocket. "Right."

The journey felt long. Syxx had jitters. He felt antsy. He had never done anything like this. When the car stopped, they were in downtown Carmen, a small town in the country side.

The window rolled down and the driver put his arm over the seat. "This here's the place _mac._ I have to be getting back now though. But it was good dong business with you, Mister...?"

"Hold on a sec." Syxx said. "You'll be waiting here until we are done our business."

"No No No, wait a minute _bub_. If I don't get back soon-"

The vulpine reached into his jacket again; he ripped a bill in half, and gave one half to the man. "You get the other half, when you come back for us."

The possum stared at the man, then the money with a pause, and a neutral look. "Okey-dokey."

"Good." Syxx got out of the large car, and Pyro got out of the other door.

"How are we getting into the facility?" The raccoon asked. "That place has armed guards everywhere, and even the engineers carry Blasters I've heard."

"We're not going to be able to sneak in." The pair walked quickly toward the outskirts of the small town. It was only a kilometer from here to the radius of the site. "We're going to have to take it by force."

"Easy."

Tall chain fences surrounded the facility, and nearby was a training base for the reserve. Signs stated that they _would be fired upon_. A small black paved road ran to the gates of the complex, through the woods. It was large, but Syxx knew that it was even bigger then it looked. Most of the building was underground, including the silo where the missile would be housed. The two were walking up the road toward the gates. A bus load of workers made their way toward the gates, where the gates lifted and they were let in by the guards. The undercover Slayers looked very odd, walking up the road toward the fences, and very suspicious.

The next moment they were at the gates. Before they spoke to anyone, Syxx spoke through his teeth. "In and out, in three minuets Pyro." They approached the booth.

The man in the booth gave them a dirty look. "You're in a restricted area now. What's going on guys?

Syxx noticed several armed guards on the other side of the fence. He glanced before he spoke. "We're with the committee of photonic safety. We require admission to inspect photon converters on the site."

"You hadn't scheduled anything with our office. We can't admit you."

"Come on pal." Syxx smiled. "I think this will just go better for everyone if you just cooperate with us."

"What do you mean by that?" Syxx watched the hound. He reached for a radio on the counter, beside all his papers. Syxx knew if the alarm went off, it would be over. If they could keep that thing from going off… they would be golden. For a while at least.

It was time already to take back the fear. Without hesitation, he reached to his side, and pulled out his pistol. The Mapaw flashed, and slapped into the glass, instead of cracking it, the cylinder of plasma melted clean through, and smashed into the man's skull, sending him tip over backwards out of the chair and onto floor, where blood quickly collected. The white walls of the room were spotted with blood.

The moment Syxx pulled the trigger; Pyro took knee, pointing his pistol toward the armed guards. He pulled the trigger once, feeling the cylindrical plasma round leave the barrel with a kick in the palm. One of the guards dropped quickly, by the time he changed targets the other guard only had his weapon half raised. The man dropped quickly, and Pyro yipped quickly. "Tango down!"

"Sprint it!" Syxx jumped over the gate. "Let's go!"

Pyro followed right behind him. He held the pistol low, as they ran across the long and nearly empty parking lot toward the building. Their boots hit hard on the pavement as they ran over the white and yellow lines. They ran up the steps, skipping stairs in between. Syxx jumped, breaking the glass doors to the floor. They shattered as he landed on top of them. As the vulpine flew through the air, he shot the Mapaw. The weapon clapped loudly in the small room. He missed twice, but the third shot hit the female receptionist at the front desk, killing her moments after the round slammed into her neck. The orange cat girl lifted her paws to her neck with wide eyes. Blood leaked through his fingers before she fell out of her chair.

Pyro rolled in, lifting the large pistol. He opened fire at everyone else in the room as they targeted the airborne fox. The coon grabbed any keycards he could find on the outsides of their jackets. The vulpine jumped over the desk. He quickly looked at the computer. "The hall to the left! Go! Go!" He slid across the desk top.

The fox pulled the knife out of his sheath. He held it his left paw, below the pistol. Two men in white lab coats appeared in the silver hallway. They saw him. The cat and dog dropped all their papers, and clip boards. They reached to their hips, looking for their side arms. Syxx lunged. His legs sent him through to air, and he drove the blade into the man's chest, sending him to the floor, in a pool of blood. Pyro jumped as well. The raccoon landed with his boots on the larger dog's chest. The dog landed on the floor, with the coon on top of him. Pyro pointed the gun at his head, and pulled the trigger. The pair quickly made their way through the rest of the hallway, when the alarm sounded.

Syxx took a large lunge forward in front of Pyro. "We gotta' go now!" There was an elevator, but they took the stairwell. Syxx opened the door. The alarm in the stairwell seamed to be even loader, as it echoed from the top to the bottom, over twenty floors downward. They skipped steps, sprinting down the stairs.

They came to a door on one of the levels. It was a yellow sign, with a black X in the center, and a circle around it.

"This one! Go!" Pyro tried to open the door. But it was locked.

Syxx looked up at the corner of a stairs. He watched a camera lens focus in on him. "Pyro."

"Working." He swiped a card through slit on the pad beside the door.

Syxx heard boots coming down the stairs. He saw shadows on the upper level. "Pyro!"

The door opened. "Let's move!" Pyro bolted through the door.

"Contact!" Syxx turned hi s back to the door. He glanced through the sites of the pistol, pulling the trigger twice. A soldier in sunglasses and green armor was hit. His body fell limp over the railing and to the depths of the compound.

Plasma rounds outlined Syxx's body, but he didn't even flinch. He felt the heat, as it splashed off the wall beside him. He put away his knife for the time being. Before the vulpine went through the door, he smashed in the dial pad and card slit, by giving it a quick crush with the butt of his pistol. The controller sparked, and any glass that was on it cracked off. It smoldered in a quick puff of smoke. Syxx closed the door.

He came in, to see Pyro standing over a pile of dead bodies, most in white lab coats, but others were security guards. The raccoon lifted his pistol again, and slapped the trigger as he went around the corner. "Target down!"Syxx listened to the weapon slice again. "Target down!"

Syxx ran past Pyro. "On me."

Pyro followed closely behind. "Roger that."

"They're tracking us through the facility on cameras. We need to get to that silo now!" The fox yelled.

"Security is gonna' be tight up here Syxx. We're probably going to run into some more personal up here though. Watch out for sentry guns!"

The pair ran down the hall way. At the end there was a large blast door, with a small window at head level. Syxx took a glance through the window in the door. "This is it."

Syxx looked at the missile. It was large, covered in white paint. He could see where the panels on the cylindrical missile and where they joined together. Mist came out some of the valves on the warhead; it streamed down to the bottom of the silo. Near the top, where the warhead was located, a catwalk led out to the super weapon.

"Up there." Syxx growled. "We're really close now!"

As soon as those words left his mouth everything went black. The lights went out, and the blaring alarm went completely silent. Syxx couldn't see anything, but his sensitive ears could hear far off foot steps and movement of his enemy.

Pyro tightened his grip on the pistol. "That's not good."

"We need light." Syxx felt his way along the wall. He put his paw on a door handle, and spun the wheel, to get into the lab along side the hall. Dim lights still glowed in the silo, which he could now see through an entire window. Slayer's eyes usually adjusted to the dark very quickly, but when there wasn't any light what so ever, then there was nothing to see. The vulpine started pulling out drawers in the desks and cabinets. He felt for anything that might produce light.

Pyro reached into a drawer. "Haha! Here we go!" He turned small flashlight next to a pile of keys. He snatched the large ring out of the cabinet.

"Good work." Syxx took the light. He shone it toward a small set of stairs, which led out to the missile. "Up there!"

They ran up the stairs. The light shone on a large blast door. Syxx tried to turn the wheel, but it didn't budge. "Pyro! The keys!"

The light shone on the coon. Pyro's ears drooped as he looked at the full ring of keys. "Sh-t." He started trying keys.

"Gun!" Syxx yipped.

Pyro lobbed his Mapaw toward Syxx. The vulpine caught it. Holding one in each paw.

Syxx took a knee, staring down the short set of stairs and at the door to the lab. He raised the pistols. The only thing he could hear was Pyro trying to get into the door with a huge set of keys. The lab was dark besides that. His strongest sense now was his hearing. He closed his eyes, his senses sharpening. The fox heard a far off click, and watched a gold gleam off the door at the bottom of the stairs, as it opened. The fox didn't hesitate. He pulled the triggers in. The Mapaws sliced, and a bright flashes emitted from the barrel. He couldn't tell if it made contact. He kept us a rate of fire, controlling the weapons as he double tapped the long triggers of the pistols.

The Mapaws held up the fire until one over heated. Flaps on the side of the weapon flipped out, and Syxx backed his muzzle away from the weapon, as steam and radiation escaped from the chambers. "Awhh! Damn!"

Syxx ducked in the nick of time. Plasma rounds flashed around him. The metal that they splashed onto melted and glowed with heat energy as the bolt diffused.

"Pyro!" Syxx hip fired the guns, trying to keep the enemy fire team suppressed. "They've got thermals!" He pinned them down firing both guns.

"It's gotta' be this one!"

"It better be!"

"It's the last f-ck-ng one!" Pyro stuck the key into the lock and spun it. "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" he yipped. The wheel spun with one flick. "We're in!"

Pyro ran through the door. Syxx stopped at the edge and blind fired around the corner, before Pyro slammed the door shut. He spun the key ring around his claw tip. Once the door was shut, all was silent again. The insolated doors kept out most sound, and would surpass the heat of a missile launch. Their boots tapped along the steel catwalk.

Syxx opened the panel on the side of the warhead, and tossed back Pyro's weapon. The computer started to glow. The touch pad activated. Syxx plugged the device into the computer. He tapped at a few more buttons. When the flash device was plugged in, the computer screen changed colors. A cool, vapory blue washed across the screen and electrical droning rushed through the system. The warhead was now infected with the virus. Large white numbers appeared on the screen.

The sounds of hydraulics filled the silo. A bright ray of light shone through the ceiling of the silo. A pair of huge blast doors opened from the center outward. Huge teeth locked the doors together. Sunlight fell through the silo, all the way to the bottom. The light was painfully blinding to them.

"Oh no…" Syxx stepped away.

Pyro's eyebrows bounced up. "What? What do mean, _oh no_? We're playing with WMD's here Syxx! _Oh no_ isn't good!"

"I couldn't get the missile to launch."

"What!" Pyro jumped forward and read the screen. "Fifty-nine minuets to self destruct! Aww man… we're f-ck-d now."

"Not yet." The lights in the silo flashed back on, but they were drowned out by the light of Sol. "The Aparoids are taking control of the complex. There will be nothing they could do to stop it. But we have to move now to get out here alive."

"You know they're just through that door right?"

"Then we go up!" Syxx grabbed the edge of ladder. He climbed with one paw, while the other held his pistol. He moved up it double time, holding his pistol behind and beside him.

The Slayers scurried up the ladder. Syxx made his way to the top, and jumped over the peak. He scanned the area, looking down his sites. They were on the roof of the complex. When Pyro got to the top, they started running toward the edge of the building. They ran toward the same direction they came in from. They came to the edge of compound, and Syxx slid across the roof, to the edge. When he looked over the parking lot, he turned tail.

His boots went one way while his body still moved the other. "No good! No good!"

When Pyro peeked over the edge he saw dozens of troops, the Urban Combat Affairs teams, and multiple armors, including Gillies and Landmaster Tanks. They surrounded the building.

The vulpine looked upwards. He heard screeching. The whining of turbine engines filled the air around them. Two ships hovered around the building.

"Syxx!" Pyro motioned his head up. "Freons! They've acquired us!"

"They won't shoot! We're too close to the war head!"

The Slayers were surrounded now. Syxx and Pyro stood back to back, slowly circling. Their paws out beside them, ready for something, but they didn't know what. "Syxx…"

The vulpine thought quickly. His honed mind ran through dozens and dozens of scenarios, thinking how each would play out, and their best choice of action. He could sense that Pyro was doing the same thing. Syxx growled hard in the back of throat, his teeth were bared, his golden fang glistening. His ears were flat against his skull.

The vulpine rolled his claws into his knuckles. "Any ideas?"

"One." Pyro pointed his pistol toward a Freon.

The coon pulled in the trigger. The Mapaw hissed, and the muzzle began to glow bright white, in just another second the weapon glowed black at the tip. Pyro corrected the shot at the approaching gunship. The Mapaw roared, as a massive bolt of white light blasted toward its target. Pyro was nearly knocked on his tail. The bolt smashed into the ship, evaporating the glass, and passing through the driver's cab of the ship.

The Freon spun in the air, as the thrusters redirected themselves. A line of smoke followed the out of control ship. It headed right toward the other ground support ship. The second Freon turned off, but the spinning ship's tail hit the other Freon. One ship exploded, as the other slammed into the parking lot.

"Now?" Pyro smiled.

"Now!" Syxx ran forward. The enemy forces were in chaos. Smoke and fire filled the lot. Syxx jumped off the building, falling into shrubs at the edge of the compound. Pyro followed. With the crash of the craft there was smoke of cloaking, and confusion.

Syxx bolted through the parking lot. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He pulled the trigger on his gun hitting targets dead on, at a full out run. Syxx ran towards one of the troop transports. This Gillies APC was modified for the Urban Combat Affairs, and had a light machinegun mounted on the top, and instead of tracks, it had six large tires. He shot down troops around the vehicle. By then, the confusion was over, and everyone knew where they were.

Hundreds of bolts of plasma flashed past, as they entered the open hatch on the rear of the ship. The vulpine entered the cockpit. It was like the driver didn't even know what was going on. Syxx put the gun up to the back of his head. The feline's ears fell down. The black cat froze. He didn't move, except for his shaking. The cat slowly put his paws up, still, now looking toward Syxx.

Syxx pressed the gun harder into his head. "Get out now, or die." The cat slowly got out of the seat. "Go now!" The cat jumped in fear, and ran down the center of the carrier, and out of the transport.

Pyro hit a switch, the ramp in the rear of the APC lifted upward, and shut against the hull. "You let him go?"

"He's dead anyways." Syxx got onto the controls.

Pyro opened the hatch on the top of the Gillies. He pulled the receiver on the machine gun back. He watched three Landmasters point there guns at them. "Uhh… Syxx?"

"Hang on!" Syxx hit the gas.

The turbine engine howled, and all six tires on the APC spun, sending a deafening screech through the air. Smoke circled around the tires as they spun on the pavement, leaving black streaks across the ground. Syxx headed straight for the gates, were another tank stood at the entrance. It seemed like all the tanks fired at once. Blue fire balls raced toward the APC and more than one made contact. The ship filled with smoke as the power of the shot almost tipped it over. Shrapnel filled the cab, and Pyro was knocked to the floor, but he quickly recovered. The rear blast doors were gone, and the wiring sparked.

This was the worst time to stop though. They had to continue. When Syxx turned the APC, it felt like half of it, lifted off the ground. He hit the gas even harder. Cannon shots whizzed past. Syxx turned the APC again, sending it right toward the fence, and into the woods.

Before they hit the fence, Pyro ducked into the tank, closing the hatch. The armor plowed over the fence, in a series of sparks. The tank proceeded to run through bushes and trees, before Syxx could get it back onto the road. The tiers screamed as it leveled onto the road. The vulpine turned in onto the main road. The police had already done a blockade on the road, but they were no match for the APC. The police opened fire, but it didn't slow them down. Syxx aimed for the center of a car, bashing through it, and sending it into the ditch, after it flipped over, and over again. Pyro ducked as fire came in from the back.

"This thing goes fast!" Pyro yelled over the screaming of the engines. "But it isn't going to get us back to Corneria in time! Corneria is minimum safe distance Syxx!"

The APC plowed through the town, over cars, and traffic lights. People ran for their lives. Syxx barked. "Open the hatch!" The vulpine caked in the throttle.

Pyro looked out the back of the blown apart APC. "… I did it." There was no hatch.

The APC started to stray off its course, and onto the sidewalk. Without saying anything, the vulpine jumped out of the back of the APC, and rolled across the pavement. Pyro knew to follow. Syxx came out of the roll on his feet and as did Pyro. They watched the APC plow through traffic, and crash through houses, and stores.

The pair put away their pistols. They crossed the streets, and opened the door of the cab that they called in. Pyro jumped into the passenger seat.

Syxx opened the driver's door. "You're in the back."

The possum gave him a funny look. "What?"

The vulpine drew his weapon in the blink of an eye. "I said out."

The man abided quickly. He jumped into the back seat. Syxx gave him the other half of the thousand credit bill that he promised and an extra thousand. "We'll have you home in no time."

Syxx pulled out of town slowly. Police and troops stormed the town, and the final resting place of the APC, that found itself tipped over in the small local super market. No one even looked at them, as they left town, and pulled out onto the open road. Syxx hit the gas hard as soon as they got onto the road. The dark matter engine rumbled, and roared as they accelerated to full speed. They flew by other cars on the hi-way. They watched other police cars race the other way on the other side of the divided hi-way.

Pyro turned on the radio. He rattled through stations.

"What are you looking for?"

"News. Service announcements. Anything."

Syxx shut off the radio. "They won't broadcast anything."

"Why not?"

"Cause it's not good for public moral. If they warned them now… It'd be too late."

* * *

X

* * *

Krystal struggled. With leverage from the wall, she had managed to get herself back up an hour ago. All she did now was watch the sun come up over the horizon. She struggled, and tried screaming, but it was all futile. She listened to the clock tick by. If she turned her head right around, she could see the time, and by now it was only a little past seven. She sighed, turning to watch the sun come up. By now she was staring almost right at it.

A few times her wrist computer had gone off, but it was _conveniently_ place on top of the fridge. She tried not to cry when she heard Katt's voice as she searched for her. She wouldn't find her though. She could never get the communicator either. She knew that Katt and the rest of Star Falco would be wondering where she was right about now… Katt was worried.

The fear infected her. She wondered about Syxx's mind. The only minds that she knew who were this strong were the elders of Cerina. It was like now Syxx could detect her, sense her, and even read her mind, when she couldn't even sense his presence of even his thoughts. Was he become telepathic… or did he just know?

She listened for anything. For anyone. But all was quiet. All was silent. She struggled to turn herself away from the sun. Her ears twitched as she listened to chair, grind across the floor.

The vixen relaxed and sighed once again. This was the exact same time that her mind sparked. Her sixth sense activated. Her ears perked upward, and she shook her head, to get away from the spark. But it came back. This time she wasn't sucked into the frightening darkened world of her mind, this time, it only came as a sound, as a voice.

It came slow and groggy at first before it came recognizable and clearly. "Hello Krystal." It was Syxx. "Look out the window." Her eyes opened wide, and she did what the voice told of her. She stared out onto the beaches of Corneria. "Take a last good look; this is the last time Corneria will ever look this way."

"Stop Syxx." She tried to scream through the bond around her muzzle. "You fought to keep it this way!" It didn't come out the exact way she said it, as she choked on the bandanna.

The voice answered darkly. "_Once, I believed, that peace would make this right. But now, I can see all I need is time."_

"You don't have the right to do this…"

"_Down, Down, Down with the enemy. DOWN!_"

With that, it felt like the floor was shuddering. The clouds in the sky all changed direction at once, moving away from her now. Just a second later, all the windows in the hotel shattered. Krystal screamed. A beam of light shot over the planet, making the buildings cast shadows even in the sunlight. She watched a shockwave carry out over the ocean, misting water upward in a straight line across the sea. She closed her eyes shielding them from the blast, but her head hurt from the sudden _thump _of sound that surrounded her and past.

She thought that might be all. Maybe that would be the very worst of it. Krystal was wrong though. She heard a fierce wind blow, and the main shock wave hit. The whole building jumped at the wake of the blast, and she felt the floor shift. She watched some buildings disintegrate from the top down. The old clock tower nearly evaporated, as the building was wiped away, and shattered. She backed away from the window, as everything in the room blew out, onto the streets below. The hotel was now a wind tunnel for the blast. She listened to it whistle through her room.

The sky turned toxic orange, the clouds now darkened with radiation, now instead of water vapor, they harnessed radioactive black plasma. The apocalyptic world crumbled around her. Waves crashed up over the shore, and flooded into the streets of the super city sending people and vehicles flowing. She could listen to buildings fall, as they crumbled beneath the might of the super weapon. Her heart wanted to break free from her chest. She felt her hotel swing backward and back to its resting place. The structure screamed as the steel sheered and twisted.

From here, she could hear car alarms and people yelling in horror and pain even as a swift wind blew through the entire hotel, and through Corneria City. The once clean air was filled with dirt and dust and garbage. Her sixth sense was clouded. It wasn't meant to endure this much distress. Her head screamed out in agony, as she felt the pain of so many at once. People were dying and millions already dead, in the blink of an eye. She cried out in pain for the dead, and hatred for the Slayers.

She closed her eyes, and thought. "_It's all a dream… Fox wouldn't go this far. He would never go this far._"

She listened to voice again… it echoed in her head. "It's not a dream this time Krystal.

"You're a monster!" It hurt her voice to shriek.

"_The cold inside this world has made this strong. Now that I refused to lose_," he started to scream. "_NOW YOU CAN HIDE NO MORE!"_


	8. War

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul****  
****Chapter VIII  
War**

"_Seems like doomsday has come early this year,  
The last angel has gone,  
Angel has gone,  
I can't remember the last time I cried,  
Last time I cried,  
The last angel has gone home,  
Angel has gone,"_

**Atreyu - _"Doomsday"_**_

* * *

_

_Freon Gunship Radio Chatter  
Planet Katina, Lylat System_

Fort: "Command, we have unregistered troop movement… West of Katina Outpost 13."

Command: "Probably just a drill. We'll look into it Fort."

Fort: "Command, waiting on confirmation. Unidentified movement is approaching the Katina outpost, ten kilometers, and closing."

Command: "We're still waiting for confirmation Fort. Standby."

Bulldog: "Command, this is Zero-Six-One. Massive movement to the west of the compound, in the woods. Could we get an ETA on the confirmation? It must be friendly movement, but it does look suspicious."

Fort: "From here they look like Aparoidian construct… that can't be right. No. No they couldn't be that close by now, let alone on planet. Command could we move up the time? Do we have an X-ray Freon on station?"

Command: "Dragon will be online after refueling."

Dragon: "This Dragon X-Ray Roger, on station, ready to indentify. Standby Fort."

Fort: "Afirmative X-Ray."

Dragon: "Thermal shadows analyze Aparodian direct matches."

Bulldog: "That can't be right."

Dragon: "There's not doubt… it's them. Command?"

Bulldog: "How'd they get past planetary defenses! I have to see it with my own eyes."

Fort: "There's more in the bushes. One just popped up. You see that!"

Bulldog: "Yes!"

Command: "Zero-six-one Bulldog, could you verify what Fort said?"

Bulldog: "Defined!"

Dragon: "This is Dragon X-Ray Roger; we still have the shadow of the approaching targets on thermals."

Fort: "Bering One-Five-Three. Directly west!"

Command: "Target's are of hostile origin and are armed with weapons. You are clear to engage. Over."

* * *

X

* * *

Peppy sat in the conference room with his paw on his head. The discussions of the war had been going on for hours. The Commissioned Military Staff consisting of high ranking military officers filled all the seats around the table.

The fox in the corner of the room, who ran the communications interrupted. "Excuse me Sir."

Peppy snapped. "What is it?"

"Getting a priority-one frequency on the primary channel. Code red Sir."

"Put it on screen."

The fox scratched his head. "Audio feed only Sir."

"Go ahead Son. Put it on the speakers."

The fox's claws danced. "Buffering into live feed."

The voice came through load and clear. "This is Commander Christian stationed at the Northern Pole Photonic Weapons Research Center! We have a Photon Missile Launch! Repeat! There is a missile in the air! Code Black! Code Black!"

Peppy's heart stopped. He felt cold. He had to act though. He had to say something. "Get the self destruct codes to that missile! Now!"

The audio came through fuzzy. "Missile cannot be aborted! Codes are not working! I repeat! Missile cannot be aborted!"

Peppy yelled. "Then try again!"

"We have! We still are! Sir, nothing is working!"

The red fox in the corner set his headset over his neck. "Another code red coming in! Audio only! Setting to conference!"

"This is Commander Nepal, Southern Pole Photonic Research Center! Code black! We have a missile lunch! Codes are ineffective! Missile can't be aborted!"

"Keep trying!" Peppy shouted again. "We're currently diagnosing the problem!"

The fox in the corner spoke once again. "Another Code Red. Audio video. On screen now!"

The darkened room lit up. A black feline came onto the screen. He stood outside a large building in a parking lot. Wreckage filled the lot around him. Smoke consumed the air, and there was fire on the pavement. He didn't hesitate with formalities. Peppy could tell which research center this was though. This was the one near Corneria, on the outskirts of the super city.

"General Hare! We have a Code Black here at Carmen Phonic Center!"

"We've been investigating it! Keep trying the abort codes on the missile! Try to get it out of the air!"

He saw the felines eyes light up. "That's not the problem Sir. The missile is about-"

With that, the screen flashed a bright white light, momentarily blinding everyone in the blackened room. The speakers all crackled with such loud noise, that they all blew out, and a second after it happened, the screen went black, and white. It was now full of static. As soon as they lost their visual, they felt the floors around them shake.

The fox in the corner, who was the communications officer tapped away at the computer. He yelled so everyone would hear him over the confusion in the room. "Electro-Magnetic Pulse inbound!" With that, the computer sparked and exploded, in a plume of smoke. He covered his eyes and fell to the floor, as glass pierced into his hide. He screamed.

The floor started to shake more violently, and they could hear a low thump, even being in the center of the building. The world then turned upside down. Light fixtures started to fall from the ceiling, and tiles fell from the walls when a sudden blast went through the building. Everyone in the conference room could hear every little thing that was going on, but they couldn't see a thing. Everything around them was dark, just like Corneria City… and it would remain that way.

* * *

X

* * *

Ramirez opened his eyes. All was silent. The raccoon looked across his bed, as he rolled over. A dresser was lined with rifles. He looked at the clock on the side of the bed. It read 12:00 and the numbers blinked on and off. He turned to the clock, and held it up. He gave it a tap with one paw before he turned a dial, resetting the time to his digital watch. Het lifted his wrist, blinked hard and shook his head.

His voice cracked. "What the?"

The watch also read 12:00, and white blocked numbers blinked on and off.

He started at both for a moment, together. His ears flinched. A loud boom resonated outside his home, and the watch and clocked went completely dead.

"No…" The raccoon jumped out of bed, and jumped into a set of pants, flying down the stairs. "No-no-no." He grabbed a plasma rifle from the weapons cache, and ran out the door of his room toward the living room. He put his back to the wall, beside the window. All was quiet. There wasn't a sound. He peeked out the window. He stared down the street. No one was outside. He thought he had just been paranoid until, without warning the window blasted into his home. Glass busted through the steel bars that he had welded into place. He felt the whole house shake.

The coon fell to the floor. "God damn-it!" The glass spared his face, but pierced the hide of his open chest. The bars over the windows that he had welded into place held firm. The raccoon rolled over onto his back. He was stunned. He pointed the weapon toward the blasted out window. He held his finger on the trigger, staring down the sites, but no firing a shot. He was dazed, and confused. He thought he was being fired upon.

He bounced to his bare feet, trying to get around the glass. Before he had time to do anything else, he was knocked down again, but the main wave. He covered his head as the building shook around him. A fierce with blew through the house. He jumped to his feet, throwing the weapon to the floor. The house spun in a whirlwind of dust and debris.

He ran to all the windows. He had large sheet metal on hinges, attached to the steel frames on the windows. The raccoon ran around the house and swung them shut. When the last sheet metal window shutter was closed, the house was dark. He could hear a fierce wind on the outside of the house, pushing on the building, and shingles being ripped off the home.

A kerosene lantern, possibly the last of its kind sat on his desk. The raccoon lit it, and it gave the home a quaint fluttering glow. He grabbed it from off the table, and made his way upstairs to his bed room. The man set down the lantern on a dresser beside one of the weapons cache. With a grunt he pulled open the armored window shutter that he had made.

A swift wind carried debris over his house, and away from it, down the streets and into oblivion. He watched the orange sky crumble, and buildings collapse under the might of the bomb.

His fur fluttered, as he stared out the window. His jaw half open, he spoke to himself, and he smiled knowing it had been coming. "_Seems that dooms day has come early this year_." He looked to the sky. "_The last angel protecting us has gone…"_

After taking a last look at the apocalyptic world, he shut the plating, shielding himself from the toxic radiation that would soon come, and the crumbling outside world. He too had once been infected with the Aparoids, and never wanted to again. He feared they would be next to come. His home was now safe though. One of the last safe places on the planet, and a strong hold for the coming flood.

* * *

X

* * *

The most dreadful sound that any trooper could possibly imagine… the blaring sound of the alarm. The sound that they were being attacked, the sound that usually rang moments before the bombs started dropping.

Stagg looked up into the blue sky of Katina. He couldn't believe this could have happened of such a nice day. A flight of gunships past right over their heads, they escorted Savage drop ships. They're ship landed on one of the landing pads on the top side of the base. They were safe within these walls for now, but that wouldn't last that long if they got surrounded.

The radio sounded in his ear, over his headset. "Echo-Seven to all Nordic teams! Make your way to the North landing pad ASAP for immediate deployment!"

The Freons screeched above them, dozens headed off the battle. Some hung in the air, ready to escort ships. The Freon gunships sat in the sky, like the small, but mighty dragons they were. Some were outfitted with plasma missile pods, and some with thermals. All were ready for battle.

The large dog motioned his paw. "Richards! Let's go!" Stagg swung the massive A2S Sniper Rifle into one paw. It was almost as tall as him.

The other German Sheppard jumped into action. He quickly snatched a rifle from the cache, and caught up to Stagg. Stagg started to run as he caught up. They navigated their way through the hundreds of other Marines running around. The large dogs were slowed by their huge rucksacks, and all the equipment they carried on the Siege armoring. Stagg wore a boonie hat while Richards wore the Siege helmet, with sunglasses.

They ran up the ramps at the center of the base, and out to one of the upper landing pads. They shuddered as two Freons made a low pass over, rocking the ground. Dozens of other tanks assembled at the gates of the complex, while others rolled out into battle. They both jumped into the drop ship and took a seat on the outside, nearest the door.

Stagg put the butt of the rifle on the floor. "This is Nordic-One! On board! Ready to roll sir."

An armored feline in sunglasses outside the ship held two glowing sticks. He gave the pilots _thumbs up_ and the ship took flight with his direction. When it cleared the pad, they were off. The open bay doors made air flow in. The ground moved quickly beneath them, as the bulbous bellied craft went off to battle. The watched below, as on the ground dozens of APC's and Landmasters made long trails of dust as they powered into the fight.

"Nordic-Five through Ten." The Lieutenant growled. "You'll be deployed at Alpha sector. Two through Four you'll be at Omega. Nordic-One, you get to see some action! You'll be up there on the first contact platoons. They need sniper support for Boomers and _Gunners_!"

The ship dropped off its troops at each land. Then it was their turn. At the front line. They landed in a hailstorm.

The Lieutenant yelled. "Go! Go!"

Richards jumped out, followed by Stagg. They ducked, getting low. Incoming plasma fire splashed off the hull of the Savage, as it lifted and turned tail. The two escorting Freons blasted over, and turned upward. Their payload lit up the field, sending fire and rubble into the air as the gunship's engines flared upward.

This world was already lost to the fight. Troops rattled their guns as the Aparoids continued to attack, while they fought to keep their ground. A Landmaster rolled forward over the front line. The gun charged and _thumped_ a shot down range.

Stagg got to his feet. He yelled over the battle. "Richards! Let's go!"

Stagg ran out front with the riffle pointed at the ground as he ran. Richards ran with his M27 at his shoulder. They bolted behind the other troops as they fought, blots whizzed past their heads, as others made contact with Marines, hitting them like a tank. Medics pulled other Marines back from the lines as they got hit.

Richards pulled the trigger on the weapon, as a Blazer closed in on a Marine. It made a horrid shriek as a blot blasted through its exoskeleton and the Aparoids body collapsed. An advancing Landmaster moved forward and crushed the body under its tracks.

A large jagged rock shot up from the grass up ahead. The Sniper team made their way forward, through enemy lines, and to the high ground. They quickly climbed the rock, and Stagg laid down, Richards a moment later after snatching the tripod and monocular from the bag. They were both set up in less then five seconds.

Richards locked onto a target. With this high power A2S sniper rifle, it was their job to take down priority targets, like Hatchers and Boomers. Low power rounds won't even pierce their shielding, let alone be effective in any way.

"Target spotted." Richard marked it with the lazar, and the scope of the A2S directed Stagg to it. "Boomer."

The Boomer too looked like a big bug. It was purple-ish, and stood almost twice the height of either of the Marines. Long arms strutted out from either sides, and it crawled slowly into battle. These were possibly the most dangerous of any off them. Their shot was a devastating mortared blast of black matter. It took a moment to charge, but the Boomers could cripple Landmasters, if they were in groups.

"Target acquired!" Stagg yipped. He pulled the trigger in. The rifle barked and the bipod jumped off the ground. Dust around them whirled, and the shock was felt against them. When the muzzle dropped again, he watched the Boomer explode violently. He pulled the bolt back aggressively. A black cylinder popped out, and a new one slid in.

"Target Down." Richards said calmly. He moved the long range monocular. "Target spotted. Gunner."

The Aparoid Gunner was slightly different from the other Aparoids. It was short and grey; but just as equally dangerous. Dual plasma turrets struck out from the Aparoid. For all intents, it looked like nothing more then a little tank. It had some heavy punch, and heavy firepower. It was what kept troops pinned down, as the dual plasma cannons each rattled off hundreds of shots per minuet. They were a little bit smaller than Blazers, but more dangerous.

An arrow on the inside of the scope directed him to the target the monocular designated. "Target acquired!" He squeezed the trigger. The sniper barked. The muzzle blazed with fire, and the dust around them whirled in shock.

"Target down." Richards snapped. He moved the scope again. He saw a flash over the battle field. He watched an enemy in heavy armoring hit the ground, before it crouched and leaped, once again in the air. But… this wasn't an Aparoid. It had the outline of a Lylatian. Heavy silver armor covered its body. The warrior held a massive, jagged, and curved sward. It jumped around the field, as tracer rounds burned past. Large and valiant shoulder flares shot out to the side, and the helmet was encrusted with golden markings, and strong expansions. On the shoulder pad, he through be made out the marking of a white symbol.

"New priority Target! Fast mover! Target marked!"

The other hound put the cross hairs on the target. It was moving quick and erratically, and a huge distance. "Target acquired!"

He struggled to track it in the scope, taking a deep breath. He led the shot and fired. The weapon barked again. The scope jumped, and he lost site of the target.

"Miss! Target is on the move!"

Stagg slammed back the bolt and hit it forward. "Target acquired!" He stared down the scope, and fired, pulling the bolt back, right after the weapon shot."

The Scouts ducked as plasma bolts shot past their heads. Richards jumped to his feet. "We've been compromised! Let's go!" They were forced to yell over the sounds of the battle.

Stagg jumped up. He held the rifle close to his chest. The Scouts leaped off the rock and ran along the front lines. He spotted a closer target, and took knee beside a smoldering tank. He lifted the rifle; quickly putting the Boomer in is sites. He took a quick breath, and pulled in the trigger. The weapon blasted, knocking against his shoulder, and stunned the other soldiers around the pair. The muzzle bounced upwards, as the target collapsed and smoked in fumes. He took cover behind the downed Landmaster, where a half dozen other troop held their position. There were two rocket teams there too.

A vulpine in a helmet was crouched over. Thick sunglasses covered his eyes. He shouted into a radio. "This is Bravo Squadron! We are being overrun! Requesting air support! Danger close!" He paused for a moment. "Roger that! Target will be marked!" He slammed down the radio. "Smoke the target!"

Marines repeated.

"Smoke the Gunners!

"Smoke the Boomers!"

"Smoke the target!"

The small male fox was the first to toss one out. "Smoke out!" The grenade landed and let out bright red smoke. "Renegades in bound!"

Even over the fire of the battle, there was a loud thundering in the air of the approaching fighters. Three grey Renegades passed over, as the troops covered their ears. Their payload dropped into the Aparoidian ranks. The ground rumbled, as smoke filled the atmosphere, and the wind blew it over them. Balls of fire flared out from the smoke and flame, leaving trailing flares in the sky. One of the Renegades was shot out of the sky as it tried to turn off. The ship spun, now barrel rolling straight downwards, into a great ball of flame that made the ground shake, as it hit the soil.

Stagg peaked up over the tank. He quickly acquired a target and pulled in the trigger. Fur blasted back from his muzzle, flat to his face for a moment. He pulled back the bolt and ducked behind the tank. "Changing mag!" he slid in a new magazine, and shoved the bolt forward.

Richards peaked up over the tank too. A squadron of Blazers rushed forward, quickly closing in on the lines. Many crawled past the lines. One came close to a fire team, and leaped forward. Fire and sparks filed off its legs, and it leaped on a Marine. Its steal legs tore away are his body.

"Aggh! Get it off! Get it off!"

Stagg jumped toward the Marines. He shoved the Blazer off the Marine, with a swift knock from the A2S. It fell onto its back. Stagg pointed the sniper at the Aparoid, and fired a shot of the high powered weapon into it, at point blank range, tearing it into two.

The Marine was beat up, but he would be ok. Blood flowed from a cut on his arm, and the feline's eyes were shut. A Marine attached to each of his arms, and pulled him back, while others covered from the front. They leaned him up against the destroyed Landmaster. A medic came forward, and addressed the wounds. The blood was mixed with a blue wavy liquid. He stared at it for moment, before the Marine opened his eyes, wide. The wounded soldiers jaw dropped, and from his mouth came an electrical _bleeeee-boooop_.

The infected Marine grabbed the medic by the neck, tossing him aside, and against the tank. Blood slashed through the air, and landed against the armor. The Marine jumped with multiplied strength. He landed a front a Marine, and with his claws, he hacked him to the ground, and two others along with him, before Stagg lifted the sniper rifle to his shoulder. He didn't look down the scope. He was way too close. He lined up the infected with the side of his barrel. Without a hesitation the weapon clapped. The report sent other Marines into shock, as they covered their ears. The super-heavy round made direct contact with the torso of the man. It ripped through armor, flesh, and bone, leaving a gaping hole in the man, and his body flipped to the ground, while it screamed in what sounded of inorganic pain.

One of the other two Marines who had been infected was quickly taken care of. The other one, the medic was already dead from such a serious injury.

"They're pushing us back!"

Richards stepped up beside Stagg. "We're falling back! We gotta' regroup!"

Stagg looked at the dead on the front line. Plasma rounds still rushed toward them, and they were being attacked upon by multiple Boomers. "What about the bodies!"

Richards grabbed his comrade by the shoulder. "It's too late for them now! If they aren't dead, they're going to be infected! There's nothing we can do! We gotta' save ourselves! Now let's go!"

They started to run back. They past Aparoids as they struggled to get back behind their lines, which were being ever pushed back by the nonstop attack of the Aparoids. The air was filled with plasma fire, and the thumping of heavy tank cannons. Everyone was deafened by the sounds of the battle.

"Go! Go!"

The engine of a Landmaster howled. It blasted forward into battle. The tracks plowed over anything in its way, and crushed it into the ground. The engine stopped, and the canon turned. The white barrel of the tank glowed for a moment, before all the energy was collected at the tip of the cannon. The green plasma turned black just before the cannon fired. The whole tank shuddered, and shocked the ground. Dust jumped from off the land, and into the air.

Richards jumped to the ground. As soon as he landed in the dirt, he became deaf. He left his weapon in the dirt and rolled onto his back, covering his ears. All Marines covered their ears, and dropped their weapons, as their front line became inactive. There was a high resonance in the air. A high pitch screaming that targeted their ears, and disabled all of them.

One Marine pointed the sky and bellowed. "SOUL!" He picked up his weapon, and opened fire, spraying the bug.

From the sky, a Soul Aparoid descended. It was basically a giant butterfly. The wings were a rainbow of purple and holographic blue. Waves of white energy flowed through the wings, to the ends. Each wing had a glowing orb in the tip of it. It almost looked like a yellow eye, and each started at them. It was larger than the size of four Savage drop ships put together. Massive bug eyes looked down upon the platoons of soldiers. It screamed a high pitch, putting every soldier to the ground. All heavy weapons in range opened fire, after they could get off the ground. Many shots glanced off its massive wings, and it rubbed off any damage. It constantly whistled lightly, and groaned when a shot made an effective hit on the wings.

The Soul stared at one of the Landmasters. Before it hand the chance to move, the Aparoid whistled, and flew around the air. The Soul wrapped its own wings around its body, and revolved quickly. From the abdomen of the creature, emitted a ray of bright fiery yellow plasma, it turned in the air, and directed the beam toward the tank. The beam melted through the steel, and shortly the tank caught fire, and exploded. The cannon mount blew off of the tank. Anyone standing near the beam, was burnt bad, and killed instantly.

Stagg and Richards took cover in a shallow ditch, as their front line got pushed back over a road. The fox that had called in the strike earlier was still there. Stagg rolled upward and pointed the barrel of his high powered rifle at the Soul Aparoid, but Richards grabbed the end of the barrel and pulled it up.

He grabbed Stagg by the collar, and pulled him back into cover. "Don't piss it off anymore!"

The fox spoke into the radio. "The is Bravo Squadron! We're being pushed back by the Aparoids! We have a Soul on the battle front! I repeat! A Soul Aparoid has us pinned down!" The fox peaked up over the ditch. "Not possible command! We are taking heavy casualties and infection! Aparoideation is spreading into our forces!" He paused, and listened. "Roger that! Understood!" He put the radio back onto his backpack. "Fall back! All forces! Fall back!"

The hundreds of troops on the front line began to back off the battle. Freon's covered their retreat, while Renegades continued to roll in and bomb their targets. Stagg took a jump for it, but something grabbed his foot, he fell to the ground. He quickly snatched the rifle, and holding it with one paw, he pointed it toward the being behind him. It was Richards. He grabbed his boot, and pulled him back into the ditch, and into a small culvert, where they could hide.

"What the h-ll man!"

"We're screwed if we make a run for it!"

The culvert that ran under the road was barely big enough for them to sit up in. They sat back to back in the galvanized steel, in the center of the culvert where it was darkest, each looking toward an entrance with their weapons up, and remained silent. Stagg put the sniper aside, and had his Blaster pointed his side. They were both scared, but didn't take their fingers off the trigger. They listened to the Aparoids cross the road over their heads. Their mechanical bodies screeched, and hummed, as their metal legs made contact with the road, scraping it off the ground.

Richards saw an infected Marine jump off the road and into the ditch. He almost fired, but withheld himself. If they found out were they were hiding, they would be dead. The Marine in green camo was pointed away from him. The infect husky leaned down, before pushing his chest forward and throwing his arms back. His muzzle pointed toward the air, and he opened his mouth, showing two rows of jagged sharp and mutated, extended teeth. The infected Cornerian screeched like a prehistoric creature. The sound pierced the Cornerian's ears, and incapacitated them both. He took a deep breath and screeched again, before it jumped through the air, with unrivaled strength, and continued into the battle. They watched through the small holes as hundreds of Blazers and Gunners crawled toward their forces. There was nothing they could do…

Richards whispered to himself. "H-ly Sh-t."

Stagg took a shuddering breath. "We're f-ck-d now dude."

Richards still pointed the weapon out his end of the culvert with one paw. "Ammo check." They spoke lowly.

Stagg checked over his body. His Blaster didn't leave his own open end of the culvert. "Ten mags left for the A2S. Four Plasma frags. How you doing?"

"Six batteries left for the rifle. Only two plasma frags."


	9. Fallout

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter IX  
Fallout**

"_You used to captivate me,  
by your resonating light,  
But now I'm bound by the life you left behind,  
Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams,  
Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me,_

_These wounds won't seem to heal,  
This pain is just too real,  
There's just too much that time cannot erase,_

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,  
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears,  
And I've held your hand through all of these years,  
But you still have all of me,"_

**Evanescence**** – "**_**My Immortal"

* * *

**_

It's two days after the detonation of the Carmen Photonic Bomb and for the tens of millions of people in and around Corneria City, it was already too late. The photonic bomb had already decimated over half the population of Planet Corneria, killing billions in the blink of an eye, reducing three of Corneria's most majorly populated areas to ash in the matter of seconds. The EMP from the bomb fried any electronics that remained intact after the blast, leaving entire continents blind. The EMPs had destroyed over ninety-five percent of Corneria's electronics, and killed communication.

Many more in the days to come, would fall to plasma radiation poisoning, leaving thousands of dead in the streets of Corneria City from deadly fallout. A Photonic Bomb was never designed to be detonated on the surface, and the deadliness of the fallout, had been greatly underestimated before it came. Two hours after the weapon of mass destruction had been detonated, with it came black poisonous ashes that the wind carried through the city, and the planet. The bodies quickly collected, as authorities were quickly overrun by the population.

Only two of the five missiles had been successfully launched into orbit. The three others had decimated the Cornerian super-cities… including Corneria City. In the hours after the blast, all hope in evacuating the citizens of Corneria City had been abandoned, as riots broke out, consuming the city as the world quickly descended into anarchy, and the last resources that the military withheld went to Katina to fight the war, and orbited Corneria to protect them, from Aparoidian invasion. Corneria City had been designated uninhabitable. Those who found shelter within walls were safe, but more yet died in the streets.

The Military Complex on the North West side of Corneria City had been quarantined. The couple thousand troops inside the complex were now set on guard within the barricades inside the doors of the complex. No one came in, and no one went out. Any surviving civilians within the city, quickly found out they were on their own, and there would be no help coming, which only provoked rioting. The only thing that the military could do now was try to keep the war off Corneria, even if it meant sacrificing the majority of Corneria's civil population.

There was no help coming, because the entire planet was in chaos. Only the smart survived now. On the surface of the super cities, no one could be trusted, and no one trusted each other. The sounds of weapon fire reverberating through the city became a frequent occurrence. People were robbed, and killed, without a second thought. Screams were normal, as they echoed through the town.

The navy had been knocked by hurtling Photonic Bombs, but it wasn't out. The two that had launched were fired directly at masses of naval fleets, but without the other three launching, it was designated by the Slayers as relatively ineffective, even though over a dozen ships were destroyed by the bombs. The Slayers had planned on decimating the navy harder then they did, but destroying the heart was just as good. Society collapsed, and the industrial stable and military power that Corneria once possessed disappeared, as the Slayers progressively overtook the Lylat System.

* * *

X

* * *

He had already shot fourteen people; most had died on his front lawn. A tall fence surrounded the property, and the raccoon had put barbed wire around the top, and weaved it through the bars, making it virtually impossible to climb. There was only one way into the house, and that was through the front gates. A gang had already tried to take his house, and had managed to get the gate open before Ramirez gunned them down on the deep brown front lawn. They shot at him, but they weren't able to hit him. Their bodies now slowly began to be coated with a film of black and white ash that the wind carried, and what fell from the toxic red sky, smeared with black clouds. It gave the surface an orange queasy look.

Ramirez had faced the radiation for a short while to close the gate out front with wire, and attach some of his fishing line to the swing of the gate. It ran through a small in the window, and down the sheet steel shutters, and inside to a bell. When the bell rang, he could tell that the gate was being opened. This way he didn't have to risk radiation sickness by having the window, or door open.

He watched it for a moment, in the near darkness of the house. He thought it might just been the wind outside. But the bell jingled, hard for a moment, and then stopped. It didn't take him three seconds to grab his rifle, bolt up the stairs, and swing open the sheet steal window shutters with a hard slam, against his wall on the inside. This window over watched the front gate from the second floor. He set the plasma rifle through the steal bars, and stared down the sites. What the muzzle he pointed at, horrified him.

The fiber sights locked onto a figure in black armor. He knew what it was right away. It was a Vortec. He saw the white star on the shoulder of the warrior, as the figure closed the gate behind him. Ramirez didn't hesitate. He pulled in the trigger, giving the weapon a short burst. The bolts washed over the man's left shoulder with hard _slaps_, he dropped to his knees, and put both paws up behind his head.

After this, Ramirez knew that it couldn't be a Slayer. Though in the Vortec armoring, it wouldn't be that easy to take him out. The figure had a beat up, red wagon with a large duffle bag in the back, and a massive rucksack over his shoulders.

Ramirez knew he had to get out of the radiation. He shouted at the man. "Come to the door! Now! Or you will be fired upon! You will be killed!" with that, he shut the steel doors. The home was dark again. The coon jumped down the stairs, and looked out the peep hole in the door, after opening the thin blast door he had, all with his gun at his side. He watched the figure pull the wagon through the sidewalk. He walked over the dead and rotting bodies on the sidewalk, and pulled the wagon over them. The bodies flipped and the wagon rolled over them. Paul had already collected any weapons that they had, and anything that might be at all useful to him.

The figure came up to the door, up the three short steps. Paul pulled the heavy armored door open, while pointing the M27 Plasma Rifle around the corner at the figure. Paul pulled in the larger man in by a shoulder plate, and slammed the steel door shut, locking the bolts behind it, almost shutting his tail in it. The raccoon pushed the man up against the wall, while pointing the rifle at the back of his head. He knew, he couldn't over power the Vortec if this man fought back.

The man inside the Slayer's suit spoke. "Security sure is tight huh?"

The raccoon let the man go. "I knew it!" He pulled the weapon from his neck.

The man in the Vortec pulled the silver helmet off his head. Inside was a tall hound. A German Sheppard with thick brown and black fur. It was Jim Felon, a Sergeant of the Fighter Force. He had known him for so many years. They were best friends, and had gone through a lot together, and, at this point, rank didn't matter.

Paul walked over to the door, and shoved the weapon away from the jam. He looked out the peep hole, and saw nothing but lifeless bodies, and apocalyptic death. "I thought you were dead." He turned to Jim.

"You know, three weeks ago I called you crazy for turning your house into a bunker." He gaze fell to the floor. "I never thought that you'd ever be right." He grabbed right shoulder hard.

"Sorry dude." Ramirez went around back of him, and looked at the armoring. The nanobots already almost had the armoring sealed up again. His fur was burnt, and skin red, but no big wound. "It's good." he said, as he checked the wounds of the German Sheppard, that he inflicted.

"No worries. Wouldn't be the first time. At least the Vortec is something safe to walk around in."

"So, What's in the bag?"

"Food… water… guns… a little bit over everything." The dog stared at the bag after taking a seat. "I thought you might have some hospitality."

"Yeah." He slowly smiled. "For sure. How's the streets?"

"Trust me. Your place isn't the worst for rotting carcasses. There are bodies everywhere, and the fallout is getting even worse. The world outside this home is literally apocalyptic. There is no society. And who ever is left, is fighting for themselves, and killing to stay alive. Rioting is getting worse… but those who stay out too long just die anyways."

"And I told you it would happen."

"I'm not saying sh-t about that, but… you don't look so crazy now I guess."

"So." Ramirez, took a seat, and propped up his feet on the desk, and crossed them. He rubbed a paw down the rocket launcher that sat by the desk, and took a drink from a glass. He slid a cup of brandy down the desk to Jim. "Any idea how to kill a Slayer?"

* * *

X

* * *

The Cornerian Military Complex was a large building. At the time, it housed about two thousand soldiers, Marines, and Pilots, plus commission officers of the Military. General Peppy Hare called for a complete isolation of the complex two days after the explosion. No one came in, or out. Marines had the permission to open fire on anything after they warned for a second time to turn back, before it got too close to the complex. Technicians had already got lights working in the complex, and computers up and running again, but no one else in the entire world did… so it didn't matter. Generals had been moved to the shelters that were ten flours below ground level, along with the Prime Minister, and other MPs. They had enough food for over two years with all their reserves.

Krystal had gotten to the Complex, just before they closed the doors for good, and being a member of Star Falco, she had clearance to enter the structure. Katt and Falco had already found their way to the complex, but no one had seen Dash since the photon went off. Falco had already given both him and Krystal up for dead. Krystal had been exposed to Photonic radiation for almost two hours today, after finding shelter, the past two nights. She was weak. The vixen was sick, and had been throwing up anything she tried to ingest. Though it was hot out, she was frozen. Her eyes glazed, much longer outside in the radiation, would have surly been fatal.

When Katt and Krystal met for the first time, Katt cried when she took the blue fox into her arms. "Krystal! I can't believe your ok!"

Krystal hugged her back. "I'm happy to be here. I'm happy you're here." She was nauseous and confused.

Katt rested her head on her shoulder. "I'm so happy your ok." She whispered.

Krystal was basically shocked, just like she had been over the past two days. She glanced over to Peppy. "Do you have any water here?" The vixen was dirty and warn out. Ashes lightly covered her fur, and dusted over her shoulders. Dirt was on her muzzle, and her clothes had burns and cuts on them.

Peppy approached her. "Yes! Yes! Of course! Sit Krystal." He looked at another man. "Get the doctor down here right now." He said firmly.

"Right away Sir." The young male fox ran out the door and up the stairs, and came back with a black feline in a white lab coat. He knew obviously which one it was. He stepped up to Krystal, who was sitting on the edge of a table.

"Eyes." The medic said.

He pulled her lower eyelid down and looked into it, with one of his lights. Krystal winced as he turned on a light, and shone it into her pupil. It quickly dilated, and she struggled not to shut it. Her eyelid fluttered, and she nearly passed out, before she shut it, as hard as she could. But the doctor opened her other eye with a claw, and did the same thing. She struggled not to blink, though she quickly became irritated, and still on the verge of passing out.

The doctor shut the light off. He then checked her ears. He slowly lowered his paw onto the very little fur tip of her ear. The vixen's ear instinctively flickered as she became annoyed at the action. The doctor then put a stethoscope to her chest, and listened.

"Just one last thing." The doctor wrote down a few things. He pulled out a flat wooden stick. It looked like a popsicle stick. "Open your mouth."

Krystal opened it slightly.

The doctor rolled his eyes. "More."

Krystal opened it a little more.

The black cat growled. "I don't have time for this!" He tossed the note pad aside, and grabbed Krystal's snout pulling it toward him. She growled through a shut muzzle. The doctor used the other paw to grab her jaw, and pry it open.

Falco shone the flashlight down her throat. "It's for your own good kid."

Krystal roared, like a monster. The doctor looked down her throat, with the wooden stick holding down her tongue. In just another second, Krystal snapped her jaw shut, narrowly missing the doc's paw tips. The stick splintered as her razor sharp fangs cracked shut over it. The vixen glared at the doctor. Her ears flattened, and her muzzle wrinkled as she bared her teeth. Her pearly teeth gleamed in the glowing darkness.

The doc threw the half of the stick on the floor, and came back to his note pad. "She has mild plasma sickness. It should clear up in a few days if she stays sheltered."

Falco crossed his arms. "How can you tell?"

"Radiation sickness isn't permanent, and it's curable and reversible if you stay inside after you get sick. The only thing is… that is it exponential."

"Meaning…?" The avian ask.

"Meaning that rate of exposure isn't linear. The longer you are exposed to it, the faster it infects you."

"What?"

The doctor paused. "I mean… your rate of exposure isn't say _one…two… three… four_. It happens more like _one…two…four…eight_, and so on. If you can't get away from it, for your body to recover, then it WILL kill you. Haven't you seen all the dead bodies in the street? Those who couldn't get to cover in time, die. It makes your nervous system break down, and we don't completely understand the effects." He sighed. "I can tell she has it because her body is lacking oxygen. The radiation makes the body reject oxygen, that's why she can't even keep down water, because of the oxygen in it. She's completely irritable, and impatient. Radiation sickness causes confusion and apathy and lack of oxygen… until it kills you. Let me just say one more thing, and this goes for everyone. No one should spend more than two minuets a day out doors, while radiation is at this level." He looked at the blue fox. "You'll be fine. Just stay inside for a few days. Though your case is minor, you've had some pretty serious exposure. Drink as much water as you can, and you'll be feeling better soon."

With that he left the room, bolting up the stairs.

Peppy handed Krystal a large bottle of water. The vixen snatched it out of his paw, and tore the cap off with her sharp teeth. She shoved it into her mouth, and without even swallowing, she held her breath, and the water rolled down her throat. She quickly ran out of breath, and started taking deep gulps of the water, until the bottle had collapsed into itself, as she sucked out the water. She tossed the bottle to the floor, and gasped. She coughed hard, hacking at her throat.

Katt put her paw on Krystal's shoulder. "What does it look like… outside? We aren't allowed to leave."

Krystal coughed. "There's so many bodies. Burnt… cut… just all on the street… covered in ash… like the rest of the world. Some buildings are just… frames. I walked over the streets. The subway system under the ground has collapsed in places, and it runs like a gash through the city. I could hear voices. I could here people screaming, and gunshots going off. Riots. And the sky…" a tear came down her face. "The sky is… bleeding."

Katt jumped up and took a seat on the table, next to Krystal. "Peppy says that the EMP from the blast has blown out every electronic device on the continent. And that's not the worst part. Peppy says that two other Photonic Bombs have gone off on the planet… Krystal… the whole world has fallen apart. There's no help coming. Peppy has annexed the Complex. There are about two thousand troops on station in this complex. Anyone who isn't in here… is on their own. By the way you say things are going, it sounds like no one's going to be alive much longer. The only thing that Peppy is worried about is the public trying to occupy this building by force. Anyone who comes too close to the complex is fired upon. You made it just in time… but we've given up hope on Dash."

Falco crossed his arms. "You gotta do, what you gotta do."

Katt growled at him. "So what! We just leave them outside! We just let him die!"

All Falco did was shrug, and sigh.

"Krystal!" She spoke, hoping to get some support.

Krystal was still in shock, and everyone could tell, and she was still sick. She stared at the floor, blankly. "Falco's right." She continued to stare straight down.

"Krystal…?" The feline put a paw on her shoulder. She couldn't believe that she was hearing this from her.

The vixen had never been so afraid of anything in her life. She never knew Syxx was capable or such destruction. She slowly rocked back and forth on her seat. A single word echoing in her mind…"_Syxx… Syxx… Syxx._" _It seamed that his voice had chased away all her sanity, and his face still filled her dreams._

"Krystal?" Katt asked again, looking ever more concerned.

She looked at her with glassy eyes. "There's nothing we can do for them."


	10. Outpost 13

Authors Note:  
_Sorry about the late entry. Had a computer crash, and had to get a new one. Lost this entire file, so it needed to be re-written._  
_Thanx for your understanding._

_Keep it Open,_  
_SX_

**

* * *

Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter X  
Outpost 13  
**

"_Far from the blast we hear the engines subside,  
Can't sleep cause the earth is burning,  
Push the edge we pledge only to die,  
Cross off the loss the loss,  
They don't care they…_

_Take my heart right from this chest!  
Take all and kill the rest!  
Take my heart right from this chest!  
Take ALL!_

_Build them up to blow them off,  
Build them up to blow them off,  
Ride us up to take the fall,  
Blind enough to,  
Kill us all…"  
_  
**Hail the Villain**** – **_**"Mission Control"

* * *

**_

"Friendly Cornerian based craft inbound!" Mykll, the coyote looked to the sky. "Hold AA fire Aparoids!"

The Slayer looked into the bright blue sky of Katina. He put his paw over the sun, so he could see the incoming ships. They rumbled the air, as their dark matter turbines turned toward the ground, and they came in for landing. The air around the coyote screeched, and he dampened his ears. He watched as a blue fighter escorted by four other ships slowly landed on the back side of a large hill, as they pushed their front lines forward.

The blue winged ship's landing gears hissed as the ship came in contact with the ground. It was a fighter, and had the symbol of a red quadruped with wings plastered on a white canopy guard. The slightly blue tinted canopy opened, and steps folded out from the side of the ship, but the super warrior inside didn't use the steps. He just jumped out, with swinging his body. He gracefully barrel rolled through the air, and landed flat on the grass, in a low crouch. Under the ship, the grass smoldered from the heat of the turbines.

The Slayer came to his feat. "Status?"

Mykll smiled at the black fox. He took a long drag of the cigarette. "The EMPs gone off from the blasts on Corneria must have jammed their radar or something. We walked right past them, and hit the planet. Our lines are slowly pushing forward. I'd assume your op went smoothly?"

Syxx glanced at the other ships. The four Freons landed in succession. Each had two seats, one above the other. Their short wings each carried a heavy payload of bombs or missiles or canons. Slayers piled out of each craft. The norm of wearing the armor for this operation had been broken for covert purposes. Each Slayer had their own preferred wear. Some wore jeans and t-shirts, with running shoes, and others wore more battle fit clothing, with boots, and jackets.

All of them walked out of the ships, after jumping to the ground. The whining engines drew to a halt, as their whistling slowed and stopped. They were all there to Syxx's surprise. They all had survived. Reaver, Cobalt, Blair, Sierra, Luke, Max, and himself all gathered together.

Mykll flicked his cigarette butt to the ground. "Where's Pyro?"

The vulpine bit his lip. "Oh yeah." He jumped on the railing, and up to cockpit of the ship. He pressed a button in the cab, and Syxx jumped to the ground. The fighter hissed, and a hatch on the bottom of the ship slowly folded downward, until it hit the ground. A commando from inside the craft tumbled out. He did a cartwheel down the ramp, and landed on his face, spread eagle on the ground beneath the ship.

The coon moaned as he rolled down the ramp. He landed on his muzzle with a hard "_OOOUUFFFFFF!_" He made his way up to his knees under the ship. He lifted up and slammed his head on the trailing edge of the wing. It hit with a _bannng_. The ships exoskeleton reverberated. The raccoon froze with his head a little below the wing, he almost bared his teeth, and he let down his ears. His head vibrated with rage as he shook it off.

He stumbled to his feet, and approached Syxx. "You!" He pointed his finger at Syxx. He bunched his other paw into a knuckle, let it go, and pretended to grasp something in the air. His facial expression changed as he paused. He licked his lips and bit them. "You…" He waved his claw tip and Syxx. "I'm not talking to you." He walked off toward the remaining Hook Echo ships, to find some food.

Mykll popped out another smoke. He looked down at it in his mouth while he lit it with an old lighter. "He seams upset."

Cobalt pulled an old and beaten windbreaker over his shoulders. "Probably didn't appreciate the barrel rolls."

"He'll get over it." Said Syxx.

Mykll tipped the cigarette with a claw tip. "What's this hunk of sheet metal?"

"This!" Syxx pointed at the craft. "This is an Arwing! Best piece of machinery ever built."

Mykll snuffed. "I heard McCloud rode out his death in one of these things. Something's _always_ wrong with the G-Diffuser." He paused, leaning against the ship. "So I've heard…" He trailed off.

Syxx dismissed the thought. "Never mind that. The Photonic Bombs went off without a hitch. Corneria has been reduced to cinders."

Reaver smiled. "It's just as good comrade. Cut off the head of the snake… and body will soon die."

Syxx crossed his arms, thinking for a moment. "Hmmm… Lisa, Devy, Luke, and Max. Glad to see you got off the planet before the Photons went off. I guess the codes were… defective. Consider that your debriefing. Mykll. Give me your headset." Syxx pressed the mic to his mouth, after putting the headset on his head, and the HUD over his eye. "All non-combative Slayers, on me, field Slayers, find some cover, and listen up. Cornerian hard drop teams have done their jobs. But the Cornerian navy didn't take the full hit. Three of the five Photonic Bombs detonated on Corneria's surface, turning it into a wasteland. Cornerian high command has been obliterated. We take Katina… we take the war."

He tossed the headset back to Mykll. The vulpine stared at the warriors around them. He was sending them out to battle, but he would be fighting along side them, which gave them comfort. He bared his teeth at them. "_They've built us to blow us off. They ride us up to take the fall, and were blind enough to kill us all. So cross off the loss!_" He hissed, speaking loudly, and hard, his voice cracked at times, as he roared. "_They don't care! They take our hearts right from our chest! Slayers! Take all and kill the rest!"_

The warriors all raised their weapons and roared into sky.

Syxx raised his Mapaw rifle by the stock. _"TAKE ALLLLLL!"_

The warriors roared, and dashed off into battle.

"Pyro! Cobalt! Reaver! On me!" Syxx already had some Aparoids at his command. They helped him dress into his Vortec armoring. With the Blazers claws, they stood, holding up the armor. The red HUD screen covered over his left eye, before he placed the helmet on his head, and the armor hissed, as it sealed the fox safely inside the silver and black. The Aparoid grown black blades on his forearms shone in the sunlight, and the silver blades on his shoulders were sharpened, as well as short sleek flares that ran back off his helmet. The silver visor covered his face, and made him invisible to the outside.

The Aparoid had two nine inch bladed knives on its back. They were long and silver the whole way down. One edge was razor sharp, and the other was a jagged serrated bone saw. He gripped the knives each in one paw, through the gloves. He gripped them tight in his knuckles, ready to stab, and as he rolled his paw tips over the handle, he radiated with power. Dark blue mist-like vapor appeared to steam off his paws, and over the knives. Thin bolts of white electricity ran over the outside of the armoring, while his gloves looked like they were in dark blue flames.

Pyro grabbed his helmet, he hung it at his side, and ran both paws back over his head, pushing down his ears, and hair. "After all that, and I still look good!" He put the helmet on his head.

By the time he grabbed the dual knives, the other three Slayers were ready to go. They all wore similar armoring, but mutated a little differently. They all used similar weapons, except Syxx, who planned to get up close and personal, only with the two knives, and the smaller Night Knife on his amore.

Syxx spun the knife around each paw, landing it right back into each palm. He turned to address the other three Slayers. They all stood strong, in their mutated armors. "Stealth weapons only." His helmet bobbed slightly when he spoke.

Right after he said that, the Slayers all put their primaries either on the backs, or on their belts, so they hung on their sides. Reaver pulled out a thick sward, and ran the blade across the forearm of his armor. It slid swiftly and sparked, as the serrated side slashed the steel. Cobalt had the night knife in one paw, and the Slayer Dart Gun in the other, his Mapaw was in the SD SMG form. Pyro put a long stock on the Mapaw, and slid on a long barrel, making the sniper rifle as big as himself when he put on the flash suppressor. Before he was done, with one rapid snatch, he pulled off the scope, and turned the weapon like a staff. He took knee, testing the fiber-optic sights with his eyes.

Syxx turned his back to them, looking over the hill, and into the battle field. He watched explosions as artillery bombed in and aircraft swarmed the sky. He looked over his shoulder slightly at the Slayers behind him, as Solar slowly set behind the horizon; he turned on thermal vision on his HUD. "Let's take this fight to the heart of Katina." With that, the Slayer disappeared into the air, each tracking each other on thermals.

* * *

X

* * *

The next shell hit like a comet. A blast of dirt and rock funneled in the culvert, and dust gusted out the other side of the culvert. Stagg didn't move beside's closing his eyes, and whispering, "Shhhhh-t." He said it just loud enough so that Richards could hear him. They had been pinned down here for over twenty four hours. They hadn't been discovered, but earlier this day, the military started dropping artillery on them, which to them indicated that they were now deep behind enemy lines. Still, every once and while, they had Aparoids pass over them, and head toward the outpost, where they would battle their forces. Lucky enough for them, being scout snipers, they were required to carry five days of rations with them in the field at all times.

They spoke lowly to each other.

"It'll be dark in an hour." Richards said.

Stagg brushed the dirt off his Blaster. "You're telling me."

"I don't know if it's a good idea to stay hunkered down here another night. It's only a matter of time before the Aparoids find us."

"We gotta risk our tails to artillery then… what's the plan?"

Richards took out a map. "We should try to make it back to outpost 13. Flank to North if we can. Maybe… maybe be able to regroup with someone."

Stagg took the map, and traced a line with his claw tip. "That's probably our best bet_… hmm_? All I know is we can't hold out here another night." He grabbed his sniper. "All right, let's get to it then. See how much ground we can cover before dark. If we get to the forest before dark, we can hide up in the tree tops."

Richards took back the map. "Maybe get some rest."

"Yeah." He sighed, and leaned his back against Richards even harder.

"Well?"

Stagg pulled the bolt on the A2S, and slipped it forward. "Let's get this sh-t show underway then."

Richards heaved a sigh."F-ck."

Stagg started, he tipped over and crawled on his stomach. Up to this point, the culvert had been dry, but a stream began to flow through now. His chest got wet as crawled. He took the sniper into his torso as he crawled. His muzzle peaked out of the culvert. The only sounds he heard were far off, gun rattling, and the sounds of the air battle.

He took a good look around; he was just about to roll out, when he heard a heavy _thump!_ He froze, more frightened then he ever had been. He couldn't see where the sound had come from. But he saw the grass move. He didn't make sound. His breath turned to ice, as where he saw a figure appear from thin air. It was black armor. Stagg quickly shot up his paw, indicating Richards to freeze. The Lylatian shaped figure, stopped in the ditch, crouching, looking out over the field. Stagg saw the knives in both paws, and the black blades on the forearms.

Stagg almost panicked when three more, very similar to the first landed in the grass beside him, and became visible from the air. They were only there for a second, when the one with the two knives in the front. Motioned his head forward, and jumped over three meters in the air, as he disappeared once more. The other three quickly followed, and all was the relative silence that it once was.

He waited another minuet before putting down his paw, and let out a great pant.

Richards wreathed through his teeth. "What!"

Stagg rolled onto his back. His face white. He shook his head slightly, and smiled. "Slayers… Four of them."

"Four!"

"Relax, they're gone now."

Richards pulled his rifle in. "They're never gone. Now go. Let's get moving." He followed Stagg out. "Come on! Let's move! We can use this ditch as cover. This road goes straight North."

"Fine by me. You're on point though."

Richards growled. "Fine." He moved forward. "Let's try to keep a low profile."

"_Pft,_ don't have to tell me twice."

The scout pair moved along through the ditch. The orange sky soon turned grey, as it quickly darkened around them. The grass in the ditch was almost knee height. Anytime they saw or heard an Aparoid, or even an infected they were able to hit the dirt, and use the grass for cover, as they let it pass by, and away from them. The forest was still a little ways off, and if they didn't pick it up, they wouldn't make it there by the time if was dark, which could leave them in some real trouble.

"Let's double time it Stagg."

The scouts ran faster, keeping low in the ditch. They ran up the incline, just as the stars appeared in the sky. They entered the tree-line, and it frightened them to be in trees, as it was almost a perfect dark.

Stagg lifted the Blaster as he entered the darkness. He whispered. "Damn…"

Richards pointed the rifle into the trees, and around the forest floor. "Come on. I see a big _ol'_ tree. Let's get up it. At least it's safe up there."

"I'm right behind ya."

Richards took knee at the base of the large tree. He spun around and pointed the rifle around the base of the forest. Stagg put the pistol in his holster, and he bolted up the tree, with Richards quickly following. The climbed up to over fifty feet. Stagg and Richards couldn't ever see the floor of the forest through the branches by the time they stopped.

Stagg wedged the sniper between two branches, and tied it up; making sure it wouldn't fall down. They were on one of the highest trees, and not that far into the woods. They could see across the ceiling of the forest, and out to the rocky battle field.

Richards put his back to the trunk of the tree, and let his legs follow across a branch, as he relaxed. The dog then almost immediately lit a smoke. He kept his paw around the lighter to avoid showing the flicker of sparks. He then took a deep drag, and stared out over the battle field. "Hey Brad… look."

Stagg looked out over the battle field. He saw hundreds of small lights, and distant heavy tracers of mag rounds. It was still light enough to see smoke trails. All of what he saw was fire. There were a few really big ones, burning as the fuel tanks combusted, leaving black smoke in the air. "Where's out post thirteen?"

"Ten clicks South East. You might be able to see the killing field. But by tomorrow… they'll be nothing."

* * *

X

* * *

Syxx hit the wall of the compound with a hard thump on his back. All was dark, and he turned off the cloaking of the Vortec. Three other Slayers hit the wall next to him, all turning off their camo. Syxx had his back on the barrier of the compound, and he rolled his fingers across the handles of the Combat Blades. The other Slayers were lined up beside him, each with a shoulder into the wall. Pyro, at the end, pointed the silenced weapon the other way covering them from the back. Syxx spoke through the speakers in the armoring. All was silence to the outside.

"Weapons cold; but be on heavy alert Slayers. They'll be expecting us."

"Thermals?" Someone asked.

"Probably." The vulpine replied quickly.

"Syxx." Pyro whispered through the mic. He motioned with his head, and muzzle of the rifle upwards, to the wall up top. Against the clear sky, they could make out multiple gleaming barrels of rifles peaking over the wall of the outpost.

Syxx glanced up, to see the muzzles of the weapons, almost within arm's reach. "Right." He paused. "Pyro, Cobalt. Hit it."

"Understood." Pyro was an old demolitions expert. He toke a D22 explosive charge off his belt. It was heavy, and thick. He placed the yellow colored charge on the wall, and the Slayers all backed off from the place in which the charge would go off. It would blast a hole clean through the compound wall. Pyro put the weapon over his lap. "Standing by." He held onto the detonator, and crouched over one knee. He wagged his tail.

"Copy." Cobalt put down his weapon. He pulled stun grenade off his belt, and slowly removed the pin. It slipped out with a sharp _click._

"You hear that?"

The warriors all froze. Syxx closed his eyes, and pushed his back up against the wall of the outpost he tried to make himself small as possible. He licked his muzzle in anxiety. The guards on the top had heard the grenade. He listened to them talk.

"Hear what?"

"I heard it too."

"From over the wall?"

Cobalt waited for four seconds before he lobbed the stun grenade with an underhand lob. The bomb flew over the wall, and exploded in mid air, right above the soldiers on the other side. A bright flash, lit up the ground for a split second, and grunts of surprise and pain were heard. The Slayer's visor automatically adjusted so they didn't get stunned.

Not a second after, Pyro took knee, resting the silenced rifle across his lap. He grabbed the remote in his left paw, and pulled in the latch on the switch. His voice was but a whisper. "Fire in the hole." The switch clicked, and the area rumbled. A plume of red smoke, and red plasma shot into the sky, as shrapnel flew everywhere. Rocks and steel shards smacked the Vortec, but quickly brushed off. The HUD of the Vortec was upset by the blast, but the Slayers were not.

"Weapons Free." Syxx said smoothly, and quickly.

"Copy."

The black fox leaned back into a jump. He leaped onto a boulder, recovered, and jumped over the wall, landing lightly, in a roll, onto the top of the wall. Revear quickly followed behind Syxx, while Cobalt, and Pyro ran through the smoke of the blast, and through the hole in the wall.

"Breaching." Cobalt jumped through the wreckage with Pyro behind.

Syxx saw a pile of bodies on the top ramp, where himself and Reaver were above the other two Slayers. He heard their weapons _snip._

Pyro aimed down the iron sites of the long weapon, he pulled the trigger in, and the weapon bounced, almost without a sound, and only a small flash in the darkness. "Target down." He reported coolly.

Cobalt stared through his thermals. "Infantry ahead. We'll distract them Syxx."

"Affirmative." Syxx bolted. His boots danced across the wall on the edge of the compound, making their way, around to the back, and to the center of the outpost. "We'll pull the plug on the outpost. Enemy troops are equipped with thermals." He spotted an assault rifle fitted with a luminous blue screen, and cool white sites inside the scope.

The lights to the complex still were not on. Syxx knew that the army thought that they would have a better chance at night with thermals against the Aparoids, but in a blinding white flash, the world lit up, as flood lights blazed the earth beneath them. Giving away their position in the blink of an eye.

"Go cold." Syxx said calmly. The two Slayers activated their camouflage. As long as the others were engaged in a fight, they would be unable to active their cloaking. The shock of the weapons fire discharged their cloak.

Reaver was right on Syxx's heals. "In order to neutralize this facility, we have prioritized targets."

Syxx's boots danced across the top of the wall around outpost thirteen. "First, the generator, and the backup generator, and then the fuel dump, and the munitions bay; the shock is going to make a mark on this place, before we detonate anything; we have to be clear of the outpost. They won't be able to hold out for long after that." Syxx spotted the generators. "Target ahead. Target Ahead."

Reaver jumped down off the wall and ran past Syxx across the ground below him. "I'll take this one." He deactivated the cloaking.

Syxx followed the action, and deactivated the Vortec as the slam from the impact of the ground comprised the generator on the armor. It sparked and discharged. As soon it he did, a wave of white hot plasma washed over his chest, as tracers plowed into him. He breathed hard as the plasma burned him through the suit. "Taking Fire!" two more hit, and the silver armor was charred black, as he was knocked to the ground. His breath was hard shuddering, and he could barely hear the Vortec HUD screaming at him. He saw red in his vision, as he lay on the ground, on his back. The Vortec's diagram in the corner of the HUD had his chest marked completely red.

"Syxx is down." Reaver barked through the mic.

"Copy that." Someone else said.

The fox breathed heavy in his armor. He rolled onto his side. He knew he had to get moving. He would still be in thermals. He rolled onto his side, and coughed hard. "Medic." His voice milled. He grabbed his two knives from off the ground, and slipped them into the side of his boots, where they sheathed. He pulled the pistol out of his side, and pointed it toward the muzzle flashes, as he made his way to his feet. He limped toward the fuel dump, where he could take cover.

He heard lightweight footsteps catching up to him, and Pyro speak. "Come on Syxx, get moving, let's go." He said in a mocking calmness.

Syxx tried moving faster, but was only greeted with a heavy plasma round in the leg, knocking him to his knees and to the ground. He rolled onto his back, and before he could do anything, he was grabbed by the collar of the armor, and Reaver, and Pyro both drug him across the ground, as Cobalt ran behind him shooting backwards. They leaned him up against a tanker. Pyro quickly disassembled Syxx's Vortec, he took out meds, and bandages. Cobalt covered them with his Mapaw. Reaver deployed the explosives on the fuel dump.

Pyro took off his chest plate and cut through Syxx's clothing, which the nanobots and Aparoid virus combined, had already almost had completely repaired. He uncovered Syxx's armor, looking onto his black chest, where fur had been singed, and blood drooled out of it. "Ahh, that's not so bad." He mumbled. He put a needle in his mouth, and flicked it. "Grit your teeth big guy." He stabbed the needle into Syxx's chest, and quickly bandaged him up, and reassembled the armor on him. He slapped Syxx on the side of the helmet. "The Vortec can handle it, you can't. You good?"

Syxx snarled. "Fine." He got to his feet.

"The shot you took to the leg didn't pierce. May hurt like a bitch, but it's safe to run on."

Syxx pulled out both blades against and spun them around in his paw. "Status?"

"We've placed charges on the generators and the fuel dump, just need one on the ammunition depot, and we're set." Cobalt said.

Pyro tossed the D22 in his right paw, with the long rifle in the other. "We've located the depot. It's near the center of the base… where all the rounds are coming from. And we better get moving, before they corner us."

Syxx nodded. "I'll take this one."

"What?" The others looked at him.

Syxx passed his Mapaw pistol to Reaver. "Cover my advance. The munitions bay is under the ground. We might lose radio contact. If I'm not out in two minutes, blow the charges." He snatched the charge. "This one too. I'll get it there in time."

They hesitated, before Reaver spoke. "Roger that."

Cobalt took knee at the edge of the tanks. He dodged his head as round went by him. "Ready to roll."

Syxx gripped both blades hard. He stood tall, and stared at his boots. There was only one way he would be able to do this. He had to get mad. He thought hard. Closing out all other thoughts, he thought about Krystal. He thought about what made him what he was today. Flashbacks ran through his mind. Her face... The face of the Slayer that was lost in the counter attack against Corneria over the surface or Sauria.

He had promised that it would never happen again to him. Everyone he had ever loved had been lost.

Echoes of the past ran through his mind, as he reviewed them. He saw faces, and relived the images in his head. No color… just fading black and white.

"_No one even knew he existed until he was caught two weeks back… killed one of the workers for; and I quote Sir; 'Dieing my fur wrong'."_

"_I'm sorry… you broke my heart."_

"_Say's his name is Syxx."_

"_Slayer is a project designed to cleanse the Lylat system…"_

_"So you're Kyla?"_

"_Yeah well I guess my best wasn't good enough… not for her."_

"_So… you're name? Syxx? What kind of a name is that? The star. The one on you're arm. What does it mean?"_

"_I am only normal on the outside. Inside, I'm everything that you fear."_

"_Four Slayers have gone rogue Sir."_

_"I speak the word of all the Slayers when I say, Syxx… __we wish to join you.__"_

"_Option A is a full front attack on planet Sauria."_

_"We've found Kyla's ship… all that's left is sheet metal."_

"_We are the ghosts." _Syxx's eyes bolted open_. "We are the writing on the walls."_

His armor glowed in dark blue-black, as energy flowed through his body. He roared inside his armor, making the other Slayers step back from him. Electricity; bolts of blue ran across his body and armor. His paws, fiery black. He crouched deeply, and shot himself straight upward into the air. His body propelled him over the tankers. The cement beneath his boots crumbled under his might. He ran into the fire. Hundreds of plasma rounds burned past him, but with his agile movement, they all missed. He blasted through their ranks, and over barricades. He targeted a gunner, and lunged, stabbing the knife in his left paw into his chest. Syxx spun around, slashing another with the blades on his forearms.

The blue flame on his paws slashed through the air. His rage an adrenaline consumed him, with only one thing in mind. He spotted a Marine point a weapon at him, and without a single thought, he flipped the knife in his right paw, so his glove gripped the blade. He tossed it swiftly feeling it slip out of his paw, while left paw jabbed sharply at his side. By the time he looked back to the other target, he had been knocked off his feet. Syxx jumped into a roll, and while passing on his back, he pulled the blade out of the black dog's neck. He recovered into a run. He never felt like he could move this fast before. He jumped to the levels above, as he skipped stairways.

Syxx made his way to the cargo elevator at the top of the base. The blast doors were open. He slashed the on watched guards, and bolted down the stairs next to the elevator. The other one came at him, hard. The butt of the weapon heading toward him hard; Syxx put up his left forearm, glancing off the strike. The man dropped the weapon, pointing a pistol at his head, moments away from pulling the trigger. The vulpine ducked low, and stabbed the knife into his torso. It went in, satisfyingly. He twisted the blade swiftly, and pulled upward. He tossed the warrior over his head, over the railing, and down to the depths below. A trail of blood following.

He jumped over the railing, falling three stories, straight down. He landed with a thump, in a crouch, with a paw on the ground. He spotted the ammunitions storage immediately, but it didn't take that long before he was spotted and opened fire upon. Plasma shots clapped in the underground hanger, narrowly missing him.

Syxx's vision spotted targets all over the underground hanger, and could feel the heat off the shots. They stopped firing as he neared the ammunitions depot. He jumped, and slid across the steel floor on his side. Sparks flew across he armor, as he slid by the dump, he subtly slipped a charge in between two creates of plasma missiles. He slide feet first into a wall, stopping, and took cover behind the crates, knowing that they wouldn't fire this close to live ammunition. He spotted a stair case that would lead back up to the top where he could make his escape.

Without taking a breather, he ran toward the stairs, when from around the corner, he froze, as he saw a Landmaster roll out from around the corner, and turn its gun at him. It fired without hesitation. The cannon lit up, with a heavy blast. He had the time to watch the plasma round go right for him, before he leaped into the air. He curled his body, and somersaulted gracefully through the air. He landed with his boots on the gun of the tank. He leaped to the top, and punched down into the hull, implanting a grenade on the hull. He tore off the camera, throwing it through the air.

He looked toward the railing he was heading to. Marines flooded down. Syxx jumped over the landmaster, for cover. The grenade exploded above his head, ripping through the hatch of the armor. He jumped on top, and tore open the hatch, breaking the steal. He kicked hard downward, and booted the gunner in the head, making him fall to the small floor. He swung into the tank, stepping on the body. He looked at the driver's seat, and took the fox driver by the head, and smashed it into the control consol with one quick hit. The controls sparked as his muzzle plowed into them, and blood dripped from his muzzle. Syxx climbed to the gunner hatch. He turned the heavy turret, and fired at the stairs. The loud shell hit the stairs, clearing out all personal. Syxx leaped from the vehicle. He jumped up the stairs. He swung up the railing, jumping like no other warrior could.

He met more contact coming down. Syxx looped up behind them, crawling around the back of the stairs. He grabbed the Marine in the back, by the neck, putting his blade into his fur. The other fighters turned around. Syxx picked him up with one paw by the back of the neck, using him as a bullet shield as he ran up the stairs. With one quick kick, he knocked the man down into the other men, stunning them.

Syxx came to the top of the stairs, and froze in his steps. There was only one exit. The one way to get out. Over one dozen soldiers had the place locked down. They weren't going to let him out. Some took knee at the doors, and others on catwalks above the exit. One thing was the same with all of them though, all the weapons pointed at him.

"Don't move!"

"Freeze!"

Syxx looked over his shoulder to the stairs he came up. Marines that he had stalled flooded up it. All of them doubling over their weapons, as the surrounded him from three hundred sixty degrees; and he could feel their sites on him, and he didn't like it. He could feel each and every one of them. It couldn't be over… not like this.

"Drop the weapons."

Syxx abided. The knives dropped to the steel grated floor with two hard _clangs_. He took a hard breath, as watched his HUD point out targets. He wished he could do something. He wished he could kill them all. He only had one chance now. He watched the mission clock in the corner of the lens that sat over his eye under the silvery helmet of the Vortec armoring. He watched the counter fall quickly, but with all these weapons pointed at him, it felt like it was taking eternity. He had given the orders to detonate the explosives inside the base, whether he was outside or not.

_Ten…_

_Nine…_

_Eight…_

Two Marines approached him. One held a rifle to his chest, and the other held a Blaster at him, with cuffs in the other paw. "Take off the helmet."

_Five…_

_Four…_

_Three…_

Syxx slowly moved his paws up to his head. He had no intentions of honoring the orders, but put his paws up, wrapping his gloves around the release valves, not activating them. He saw the timer reach zero. He grit his teeth, and if on cue, he heard a loud smash rattle the floors beneath him. That small hit of activation energy from the charge soon had the whole place rumbling. A shock knocked everyone off their feet, including the Slayer. His helmet hit the steel grating. He opened his eyes, and through the metal webbing, he saw a blue and green fire ball barreling toward him from below.

If anything was a kick in the tail to get him moving, it was that. Syxx stumbled upward holstering the knives and snatching a rifle as he bolted past one of the stunned Marines. The fox ran, hard. With the butt of the rifle, he hit the control switch, and the doors opened, and the button smoked. The first thing he noticed was that all the lights outside were off, but the area was still bright with the flames from the fuel station and generators. Syxx jumped off the top floor, and fell three stories to the ground below It was almost as if everyone ignored him, watching the building go up in flames, including all the targets.

He felt the fire ball on his tail and on his back, he watched the fires burn over the complex. He coughed. "This is Syxx. The munitions depot has been successfully destroyed." He voice was gruff. "Let's take this fight to Corneria_. They can't sleep while their earth is burning_."


	11. Storm

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter XI  
Storm**

_Born into freedom, they remind me  
To go and protect it blindly  
All of your life is depending  
On who and what you're defending_

_Move in for the kill, 'til they finally get their fill_

_Raised to believe all the hatred  
While all of the innocence faded  
Trust in yourself to follow  
The lies just get harder to swallow_

_Move in for the kill, 'til they finally get their fill_

_Lay down your life  
For what you are  
Live the sacrifice  
For a silver star_

**Hypnogaja ****– **_**"Silver Star"

* * *

**_

The last thirty-six hours were nothing but a haze. The blue vixen remembered only parts of it. Mostly dry heaving over a bucket, as her body rejected mostly anything that it had ingested. She remembered crying, trying to stop herself from puking her guts out. She had been put in a small room with Katt. After lurching over the floor, she would pass out back into her bed again, falling asleep for another ten hours. She would wake up in cold sweats and found herself hallucinating, as images from the milky white walls came alive, and danced around her. She couldn't tell herself that it wasn't real until she had awoken, and come to realize the apparitions, distinguishing fact from fiction.

Even sick from radiation, she dreamed. She dreamed to escape to apocalyptic world that she lived in. An image of a white and black star haunted her. The mark of betrayed. The star came to an adjoining face. A black vulpine, the tattoo on his arm formed, and a silky black tail appeared. Sharp pearly daggers clouded her vision, all surrounding a long gold fang. All was dark. She spoke to the figure. She was half asleep. She knew she was in her bed, but she could see the vulpine standing beside her small bed. He towered above her. He looked down upon her. He held a long rifle by the pistol grip in one paw.

She cowered to the corner of the bed, where two walls met. "W-What do you want?" Her voice shuddered.

The vulpine stared down at her. He said nothing.

"What do you want!" She said in a stern but frightened manner.

His gold tooth flickered as he spoke. It looked almost luminous. "The Slayers are coming to Corneria."

She shook her head, pulling up the blanket to her muzzle. "No… the Slayers can't get in here. There are too many troops."

He laughed deeply. "And that has stopped us before?"

She paused. "I don't know if you're real, but just answer one question for me."

The black fox cocked his head slightly.

"Where are you to go, after you've gone too far?"

Syxx's paws glowed bright white. Krystal reacted. She saw the knife on the sheath over his chest; she pulled it from the sheath, closed her eyes, and stabbed it into his chest with a quick blow. He didn't budge. It was sent in swiftly. She removed her paw from the hilt, and opened her eyes. When her eyelids were open, she was horrified at what she had done. Her paws covered her muzzle, and her eyes opened wide, while her ears flattened. She wanted to throw up again.

Standing in front of her was now Fox. A knife stuck out of his chest, while blood leaked down into his clothes. He wore a silver vest, brown pants, and gloves. She saw the red fox with wings on the side of his jacket. She looked over the mysterious red fur that covered his body, and the white tip on his tail.

She spoke through her paws. "Fox…"

Though it was Fox, it didn't sound like him. The voice was dark. He still sounded like the evil and monstrous Syxx. He pulled the blade out from his chest. She heard the insides of him slide against the blade as he withdrew it from his body. Blood pumped out from the wound, and he put the blade in a sheath at his side. The gash dripped blood onto the floor.

"I don't have long." Krystal shuddered as she heard Syxx's voice come from the red fox.

"What?" The vixen asked.

Fox flashed his paw. In it appeared a small black box, and a long weapon. He tossed it on Krystal's bed.

She snatched the object. "My staff. I thought I lost it in the explosion… and my box."

"Listen up." He snapped like Syxx would. "The Slayer's are coming to Corneria, and there's only one way to stop them."

"How?"

"To stop Syxx. Ugghh!" He crumbled to his knees, and held his stomach. "And Syxx can only be destroyed one way. Agghhhhhh!" He paused, leaning over, one arm holding him up. "Just remember… what ever doesn't kill him… only makes him stronger."

"How do I defeat him?"

"Aghhhh!" He fell to his face, and rolled over onto his back.

Krystal jumped to the floor. "Fox, there's only one way I can save you! How do I?"

He stopped moving altogether, and his body disappeared.

"No…No… No…"

* * *

X

* * *

"No… No…"

"Krystal? Krystal?" The world was hazy once again. She woke to see a pink feline above her.

Krystal snapped up. "What? What's happening?"

"Nothing Krystal." She put her paw on her lap over top the blanket. "You've been talking to yourself for the last hour. I thought I should finally wake you… are you ok now?"

She propped her back up against the wall. "No." She shook her head.

"Why not?"

"The Slayers… they're coming for us."

She huffed. "Try to get some more rest. I'll come back with some water for you."

The little blue vulpine took a deep breath. "Yes. Ok. Thank you."

Katt walked out of the room, turning off the light. Krystal sunk back into her bed. She cleared her tail, and moved it out of the way. The vixen took a deep breath, and calmed herself. She closed her eyes, and turned around in her bed. She kicked something with her barefoot. Her eyes snapped open, and she felt around with her foot, feeling the object.

She snapped up, and turned the light between the two beds on. She reached under the covers, and grabbed the steel bar, and pulled it up. "No…" she spoke to herself. She pulled the staff out of her bed, and laid it over her lap. "My staff." The truth was she had lost it in the blast. She watched it fly out the window, and disappear into the sea, lost forever.

She looked across the floor. No blood. No marks. Nothing. She didn't know if she was losing grip on reality, or reality was ever changing, as the super natural eluded her. She didn't know what was going on, or what was going to happen. Syxx couldn't have really been here. There was no way. He couldn't have been.

Krystal, jumped out of bed, quickly dressing herself. She rubbed her leg, were her tattoo was, as if she had hit it on something. The vixen ran out of her room, and into the hallway. The hallway had a concrete floor, with dozens and dozens of rooms through the many halls on this floor. She ran up the stairs and into a dark room. She listened before she opened the door, all she heard was muffled noises, and voices. She didn't need to listen though; she could read everyone's thoughts. They were talking about the Slayers.

She opened the door, and slid through, trying not to let any of the light from the halls through the small in the door. Her bushy blue and white tipped tail slipped through the door, just as it closed. Everyone in the briefing room ignored her, besides a few glances.

Peppy sat at the head of a table. A light from the ceiling was the only one in room that hung above the white table. Most of their electronics were wiped out. They were back to paper and pen until the IT guys and electricians could get the place up and running again. The vixen watched from the sides, as Peppy, the president, and other commissioned officers spoke around the table.

"…and this leaves us where?"

Peppy leaned back into his chair. "We've made first contact with the navy. There's nothing they can do to help us. Their primary is to keep the Aparoids off this planet. If we can get neutralization up and running again, we can deplete the radiation."

The Prime Minister, an older lion spoke. "How long will this take General?"

Peppy set his glasses down on the table, and rubbed his eyes vigorously. "At this point, photonic Neutralization is impossible. Levels are too high, and the process itself could take up to ten years."

"Ten years! This is unacceptable General."

"I think at this point, all we can do is to hold this complex, and maintain control of the orbital battle. And we've confirmed that we can keep Slayer outs of this establishment."

"You can't know that." Krystal said from the back. Everyone at the table looked at her. Peppy was about to speak, but the PM beat him too it.

"Excuse me Miss, but what do you know about these Slayers?"

"Not a lot. But I've run into them."

Another general spoke. "With all due respect, no one has ever come forward with this sort of intelligence since the program started. How do we know we can trust you?"

She stepped forward into the light. "What do you have left to lose?" she said simply.

They all were stricken silent by the remark, as reality sunk in.

The Brigadier General continued to speak to her. "The last known contact we've had from them was through brief communication, and before that, through Pual Ramirez. We can only assume is dead now, being on the outside of this building."

"Have a seat Miss." The PM offered.

Peppy laid out a bunch of files. "I know this could be asking a lot, but." He paused. He put out a whole bunch of files, and papers. "Is there any possible way that you could identify one of these warriors who might be their leader, or something?"

Krystal glanced at the files. Each was a single page. Each one was an identity. There were exactly one-hundred files, each for every Slayer that had gone through selection. She put one paw up, and pawed through the binder. She started at 'one', but knew what number she was working up to. Each profile had a photo, a signature, and a list of accomplishments and amenities. It said "Cornerian Special Forces" in one corner, and a photo of the shoulder pad on their armor; their name, their number, and the Black Blade Star… the mark of the Slayer.

She got to number "37." She stopped. Her eyes glanced over the page. A spark of anger going through her mind, she read everything, before flipping the page. Many of the profiles she looked at had a heavy black stamp across their file. It read "KIA". She made her way to "52 - Pyro" and another face she recognized. He had been with Syxx when he was on Corneria. She could sense this man. He put on a tough exterior, but he was a man that had a lot to hide. She could sense him at least. She finally got to "66" She read it, learning more about him

She stopped. "Him." Her claw tip tapped the photo. "This is him."

A black cat took the portfolio from the vixen. He scratched his short beard and nodded.

"General?" Peppy asked.

The feline coughed. "I was afraid it was him."

"Would you like to enlighten us General?"

The orange feline tossed the file to the General. "Meet Syxx. Rogue Special Forces Slayer. We found him in prison, after his arrest at Fox McClouds semi-public funeral."

Krystal heart leaped just at the mention of this. She wondered why this was. She wondered why she cared. She wondered why she still wanted to protect his identity. Maybe it was because, deep down she still cared for Fox… not Syxx, but Fox.

"What else can you tell us about this man?"

The man huffed. "Hah! Not much. He's the worse of all of them. Mean… and tough as nails. No Mercy. I can tell you if he's the one leading this, he's not stopping until one of us is dead."

"Capture?" Someone suggested.

"Not likely. We don't know where he is for one thing, and a Slayer has never been captured. It never even happened in training. Slayers are extremely illusive. We have no combat footage of them after they went rogue."

"Miss Krystal." The PM looked toward her. "What would we do to take down Slayers."

"There's no way to kill a Slayer." She shook her head. "If you kill one… it's luck."

Some of the officers shook their heads in disagreement. A low mumble came up between everyone, as they all whispered and spoke at once.

"It's true." The Brigadier General said. Since they didn't have hollow-grams up and running yet, he displayed a picture on a screen through a projector. "These photos were sent to us from the surface of Katina." On the screen, there was a blurry picture, and the only clear thing was a figure in black armor with huge shoulder flares, and knee guards. The figure's hands were out at its side, with a heavy M28 plasma rifle in each paw. He held them as if they were pistols.

"These are the only known photos ever taken of a Slayer in battle." He cycled through the photos. They could tell each one was taken in succession, right after the next, before it disappeared. "We don't yet have analyzers up and running yet. When we do, we can further examine these photos."

Krystal looked at the photo on the screen. She saw the white score on its arm, but the Slayer was unfamiliar to her.

"Anyways. We've got thirty-one Black-Ops troops in the building. They're in the vault training… they're not much, but they are all we have."

The General nodded. "Very well. This meeting is adjourned. I want all of you to go back to your respective stations, and rest. We've all worked very hard."

Everyone at the table got up and left the table. Even the PM left and went back to his room. There was no special treatment here. He had no master's suite. The hundreds of single rooms in the fallout shelter below the complex were all the same. Krystal was about to get up and leave as well, but the flicker of the lights in the control room made her heart leap, as her fear to be in darkness completely consumed her. Just as fast as the flicker began, it stopped, and all was back to normal.

"Peppy." She stuttered with a concerned look on her face. "What's going on?"

Peppy coughed, and sat down once more. He sipped at his coffee, holding it with two shuddering paws. "Photon Storm is brewing."

"What's that?"

"Well. It's basically a super-cell. A storm that is created from all the plasma radiation in the sky. The hot sky, and the cold surface, cause storms to form. Storms stronger than we have ever seen on Corneria. Cities can crumble over the might of them. I'd never thought I would live to see them, they were all just theory until now."

Krystal watched the lights flicker. She looked up at them. "May I see?"

The Hare put his glass down and looked up at her. "I don't think that's-"

"Please!" She interrupted sharply. "I want to see."

He coughed. "I think I can arrange something."

The old man stood up, but Krystal put a paw on his shoulder. "Peppy, I know you want to do all that you can for everyone here, but you need to rest now. You've done all you can do for now."

He laughed. "Thank you Krystal, I'm an old man, but I can still handle myself." He reached into his pocket. "Take this at least. It will grant you access to the surface for a short time. It's really all I can do." He handed her a card. It wasn't a key card. It was just a laminated card that stated that she was authorized by the General.

She took that card. "Thank you Peppy. Now get some rest."

He just nodded, but Krystal didn't see him leave as she headed into the stairwell. There was a big sign over the elevator that said. "Out of Order". Krystal kept climbing the stairs, passing workers, and soldiers on the way up. She climbed over ten levels. She finally got to a level that said. "Main." A paper under it said "Off Limits".

Two guards stood there. A black lab spoke to her. "Sorry. Off limits."

She showed them her card.

The other soldier, a female husky raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to continue?"

The vixen just nodded.

The male soldier pulled a key out of his pocket, and put it in the lock. He turned the handle, and it opened. "Porter here will escort you. I'm sorry Miss, it's required."

Krystal nodded. She looked at the snow white female dog. "I understand."

The door opened with a squeak, and instead of finding herself outside. She found herself in a small silver steel room with the bigger soldier. Porter grabbed a rifle off a weapons rack. She pushed it into Krystal. "Safety's on. Do not fire unless you are fired upon. If you don't know how to use one of these, you might have to learn." The dog grabbed a green and black vest from off the rack. She threw it over Krystal's shoulders, and zipped up the ballistics vest. "In the event a firefight breaks out, you will not engage the target." The famine husky put three plasma batteries into her vest. "In the event of a firefight you will follow me back to this point." The girl put a black helmet onto Krystal's head and made sure her ears popped out through the slits. The husky clipped the buckle on the helmet. "At that point you will relinquish your weapon and kit, and return to the underground shelter. Am I clear?"

Krystal pulled the helmet up so she could see the dog. She adjusted the vest on her shoulder, and nodded. "I do." Krystal had never felt like such a soldier before. She didn't like it… she felt… expendable.

The husky grinned. "Good."

There was a huge blast door. She wagged her tail and paused. She knocked on the door, two slow, and three fast. The hound then put her paw on a cog, and started twisting. The door slowly opened revealing a half meter thick door. They opened it up just enough so that they could slip through the crack. Two guards on the other side slammed the door closed behind them, putting their shoulders into it to slam it shut. The door slam echoed through the hall. They continued up a short set of stairs to reach ground level.

Krystal had expected something different. She thought it would look like it did downstairs, but it didn't. It was dim in light almost a perfect dark, and dirty. She saw the husky in front of her turn on the flashlight on the end of her rifle, and she did the same thing. She found herself in the center of a hallway. The white walls were dirty, and the hall was filled with garbage, and dirt had collected in the corners, and bottoms of walls. The only real way to see was with the light. Every corner and intersecting hallway had at least two soldiers. In some places there were mechanics welding up windows that had been boarded over, and repairing anything that they could use as another line of defence. She could hear the wind from here. It whistled on the outside of building. Some steel shudders rattled against the side of the building, as the storm tried to get in.

The ambiance in the air was tense, and it made Krystal grip the stock of her rifle tighter, as she followed the soldier. It felt like a long time. She swore she could see the building shake from the wind and as if, it was going to blast through a wall at any moment.

They stepped up the stairs to the top a level above the main floor. There was a set of storm doors that led to the outside, to the railing around the complex. Two Marines stood at the doors. They wore heavy armoured suits that covered their bodies completely. She saw on the vests it read "Siege M-II." They were all dressed in green. A helmet sealed them in the armour, but each of them had their helmets under their arms. The doors behind them shuddered, and knocked against the door frames.

Porter came up to the doors. "Put on your mask." She said, as she did the same thing.

Krystal pulled down the mask. She tightened the grip on her rifle, and grit her teeth, as the door opened. Wind rushed toward her and down the stairs. She was knocked back, but quickly regained her footing, and stepped out the door into the bright red world.

The girl closed the door behind them. "Ninety seconds Krystal." Porter said.

Krystal stepped forward. To her left, there was wall, and this wall continued up the complex. To her right, there was a short stone wall that she could see over the edge of. This shelf continued around the building, where Marines and shooters were posted. She could feel the wind sending sharp sparks of sand into her hide, but she kept moving forward, fighting the current.

Everything was red. It looked just like planet Titania to her. The vixen took a few more steps and she almost stepped right into a sniper team. They sat there, in their sealed armour, and used thermals to overlook the field. A light brown blanket covered them, making them almost invisible. Sand collected by their boots, and edges of the garment, and she could hear them mumbling over the howling of the wind, even from inside their helmets.

"Target six hundred meters and closing. Lylatian shadow."

"Green light."

Krystal jumped backward as the sniper rifle clapped loudly through the air, but it was quickly muffled by the sound of the storm. She stared out to where the shot had gone, but it was hopeless, she couldn't see what they were shooting at. She knew it was a person though. She knew it was some innocent refugee looking for a safe place to hide.

She almost yelled over the might of the storm as she spoke to the dog. "We can't just kill anyone that comes. These are innocent people!"

The dog huffed. "_Born into freedom, they remind me, to go and protect it, blindly. All our lives depend on who, and what we defend_." She patted her shoulder pad.

Krystal read the shoulder pad, and for the first time, she noticed what it said. She read_, Cornerian Special Forces Black Ops_. Not Slayers… but perhaps the next best thing. She looked at the other soldiers. They didn't have the same patch. They knew why they fought. They fought to stay alive, and the only way to stay alive, was to keep each other alive.

Krystal took a few steps backward. She peaked over the edge of the building; just within her sight she could see dead bodies that were just left on the pavement of the lot. The lot was also filled with garbage, rubble, and overturned and charred cars. Anything beyond that was invisible to her. It disgusted her, but she knew that this could very well be the last hospitable refuge on Corneria, and that they had to protect it.

She looked into the sky. Her heart jumped as she saw the sun, and then it disappeared behind a cloud of heavy dust. Solar disappeared into the blood red sky, now hidden behind the black, toxic, clouds of Corneria. The wind picked up for a moment, and thrashed the side of the building hard. The vixen, and many others were knocked to their knees, falling behind the short wall that shelter them from the wind, but more importantly, it protected them from incoming fire from whatever rebel bands they may lay behind the lines. No one really knew what was out there.

The women she was with put a paw on her shoulder. "Thirty seconds of exposure left. We should be getting back."

Krystal nodded. There wasn't much to see out there anyways. She spun around, and the husky let Krystal go first. They opened the doors, and shut them just as quick, before anymore dust, and debris could get into base. It was dark again and Krystal took off her mask.

The vixen coughed. "How do people get in and out?"

They went down the stairs, and back to the main floor after handing back the masks to the troops. Porter led the way through the dark halls. They passed many guards on the way back to the blast doors. "There's no way in. There's no way out. All doors, all exits, windows, everything, have been welded shut. No small arms fire can penetrate this base. Even if they get to the walls of the complex, they cannot get in. Security has never been so tight."

When they got back to the security doors, the guards let them in. The huge doors sealed behind them, and Krystal once again found herself in the small silver room where she had been briefed by the female dog.

Porter grabbed Krystal's helmet and put it back on the rack. She also took her weapon, ammunition, and ballistics vest. The warrior slung her weapon over her back, and pushed Krystal up against the wall. The vixen caught herself with her paws on the wall. The husky quickly searched over her body. She felt up her legs, and around her sides, and shoulders, and under her arms.

Porter let her go. "Lift your boots." The fox lifted her legs one at a time, and the soldier checked under them. "Ok you're clear."

When the final door opened, she was back in the complex. It gave her comfort to be back inside. She felt safe with the security around. Thermal scopes and troops were always on the watch for them. It made her think that they actually had a chance… A false hope perhaps.


	12. Slayers Inbound

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter XII  
Slayers Inbound**

Got to live with,  
live with this shame,  
Turn things into positive,  
Fuck the regrets,  
I'm keeping my eyes on the prize in front of me,  
And I will win.

**LowBuz**_**– "What's Done is Done"

* * *

**_

The pistol was put down on the table with a powerful _thump._

"This is the _Tesla_."

The room was dark. The complex couldn't afford to use too much power, so only a portion of the overhanging lights in the control room had been turned on. A handful of the finest soldiers that the Cornerian Army now had to offer, encircled the table. The fallout shelter of the complex was well equipped with new and experimental technology. Some had been protected from the EMP, but others had to be completely rebuilt from the ground up, as the Techs tried to get everything up and running with only what they had.

A husky warrior picked up the weapon. It was a very small pistol. Even smaller than the Blaster, it did pack at heavy punch however.

"What good is this?" She asked, as she slid it back across the table.

The officer caught it in his paw, stopping it. "The Tesla fires a circuit frying EMP."

"So?" Another one asked. "All we have is already baked. What good is this?"

The officer snapped on a hologram. It floated over the table. It was about half the size of a real figure. A suit of armour floated. "This is the Slayer Vortec. The most advanced piece of armour made. It makes the Siege, and even the Siege II, look like cr-p. This armour has been found to have no vulnerable points, except for overkill. One or two shots will not incapacitate a Slayer." He held up the glowing blue pistol. "This will. It fires at a frequency of a half million electron volts. Enough to disrupt the power supply in a Vortec, for up to a half hour, but not cripple it. And look." He picked up the gun, and fired it at a soldier across the table. The weapon shot with a high pitched whistle, and a very small blue orb hit the man in the chest.

He jumped, putting a paw over his weapon, but he did not draw it. He felt his fur stand on end, before it settled once more. "What the hell?" He felt more confused than angry.

The officer spoke again. "The Tesla does no damage what so ever to organic tissue. But it has its drawbacks. One a half million electron volts is a lot of energy. Loading a battery will give you only four shots, and an effective range of only twenty meters. Make your shots count, because if you hit a Slayer with one of these, it will slow down, it will not have armour nano-repair, and it will be weighed down by the heftiness of the suit."

"Great." A soldier said sarcastically. "We got any other weapons on them?"

* * *

X

* * *

From above, the planet looked like something out of a movie. This was no movie though. This was real. Black clouds plagued the planet, and super-cells, over three hundred kilometers in diameter wreaked their havoc on the surface. Through the darkened super storms, large craters were visible; the mark of each blast, stretching tens of kilometers in diameter scaring the surface of Corneria forever. Naval vessels crowded the orbit of the planet. They would have one shot, and one shot only to break through the boarders of the navy to hit the planet, or be destroyed even before entry into the atmosphere.

The Aparoids have come a long way. Any piece of technology, any weapon, the Aparoids could build for them. Right now, Syxx and his crew were within a Cornerian battle ship. This ship had been taken over by the virus, and looked far from stock. The outside, once clean pale grey, now had large patches of blue infectious electrical scores upon it. Parts of the ship, Aparoidian construct even grew on it, letting blue and black growths jut out from either side of the ship.

The bridge was dark, and hollow-panel was cracked. The holograms emitted a flickering image of the planet. Hundreds of ships encircled Corneria, just marked as red rectangles.

Himself, and nine other Slayers congregated around the conference table. Pyro flipped a coin in his right paw. He let it bounce off the table. It jumped, and flew right back into his glove. There was sense of tension in the room. They didn't like it. They were outnumbered one-hundred to one, and going into battle with nothing but the single ship. A rifle wouldn't help in this fight, and they could feel vulnerable.

Syxx sat up at the head of the table. "Six of the ten that are here will be going to the surface. Anyone have a problem with that?"

Cobalt rustled anxiously. "Anything to get off this ship."

"The teams will consist of Cobalt, Reaver, Blair. Hit Metro. Find any stragglers, or strongholds that might be left in and around the area. Remember to stay bundled up. The armour is only thing keeping you safe from the radiation. Myself, Max, and Pyro will take Corneria City. We will be doing the same thing. Make sure that you investigate the military complexes. They are the most likely to have strong holds. Do not enter though, this is recon only. Most likely they will have the area locked down, with mines, and other explosives, as well as fixed gun position, and snipers. Look for signs of activity, and report back."

"Roger that."

"Affirmative."

Pyro chewed on a brown cigar on the side of his mouth. "We'll be taking the pods down. They're quick; it's easy to avoid any weapons fire."

Syxx turned and spoke to the pilot, Weaver. She was in charge of the ship. "How long until we are in range?"

"We're on the outer limit of their detection. They should be spotting us at any moment now." She turned to the engineer on the ship. They would be lucky if they could fly this craft with so little deck hands, but they were trained for it. "Bring engines up to eighty-percent."

The Slayer at the console tapped at the touch screens. "Roger that. Adjusting engines output." The vulpine at the controls paused. "Speed."

Weaver, though technically the captain, still had to be at a control station, because of their shortage of deck hands. She operated the detections. She bit her lip. "Yeah, here it is. We've been detected, and they are scanning for signature. Once they realize, we've got Aparoidian Construct on board, they'll open fire when we are in range."

"How long?" Syxx growled, asking again.

"I can have you in range of drop in ten minutes."

"Good enough."

"Just know, as soon as we are in deployment range… we're also in weapons range. I'll try to give you the protection you need, but no promises."

"Understood." Syxx yipped quickly. "Alright, listen up. We deploy in ten. Mount up Slayers!"

All the Slayers got up from which they were sitting or leaning on walls. Helmets went on heads, and gloves slipped over paws. Pyro tossed Syxx's helmet at him. The vulpine caught it into his chest. He brushed off the silvery visor. It was marked, and the finish had been taken off many of the plates of the armour, and it deteriorated, not having regular or proper maintenance. He looked into the helmet, pulling it around his visor, and pulling the back onto his head, and the red HUD that lay over his left eye. It was nearly pitched back for a moment, before the hiss of the armour connecting rang through his helmet. The HUD flashed bright red, and the armour pixelated, and folded into the corner of the HUD, all was green now. He touched the Night Knife over his chest, making sure it was still there, and he felt the sub-machine Mapaw, resting on a hook at his side. For as much as he was concerned about the drop, he was ready for war.

He followed Pyro out of the control room, and down the stairs. It was a fast paced jog, through the hull of the ship. The silver steel was tainted with blue veins that run through the walls, and the doors. A blue door opened, and they entered a dark room. In this room, there were about three dozen silver pods that hung onto each wall. Syxx, knew that there were more rooms were this had come from. There were many drop pods here.

Syxx, Pyro, and Max all found pods right next to each other's. The black fox slipped into one of the pods. He pulled down the harness, and pulled out a lever. The glass door in front of him shut solid. In fact, the entire front of the pod was glass. The metallic inside reflected the blue glow of the infection. He looked to his left, seeing two rifles, and a few grenades attached inside the chamber.

Syxx opened the communications grid. "Standing by."

It was a while before Weaver responded. "Roger that. Prepare for drop. Two minutes."

"Affirmative."

Pyro held the shoulder harness hard in his chamber. "Hey Syxx… ever dropped in one of these before?"

"Besides in training? No."

Weaver came over the comm. again. "Ninety seconds."

Pyro took a deep breath. "I mean, isn't there a lot of calculations to hit the surface in the desired spot?"

Syxx, leanded back into the padded wall. "Weaver and I took care of them."

"Double checked?"

"Tripple." The fox quickly replied.

"Thirty seconds." Weaver said from the control room.

"Copy." The Slayer quickly replied.

Syxx tightened his grasp on the handles. He grit his teeth, leaving his eyes open. The ship rumbled lightly, and then shook. The vulpine felt his teeth rattle. All the lights went dead. When he thought the moment had passed, the entire ship shook again, violently. He could hear the sounds of the ships guns knocking. He felt the vibration of every shot as it was fired.

He growled. "Weaver! We are standing by for deployment!"

"Negative Syxx! My control to your part of the ship has been cut off. You will have to opt for manual release!"

Syxx pulled his paw up to the handle on the roof. "Everyone hear that!" He barked. "Manual drop! Wait for my word!" Syxx grit his teeth hard as the world around him shook. From inside the pod, in the room he saw sparks, and smoke fill the drop station. He nearly yelled into the mic. "Standing by!"

The replay was quick and crisp. "Ten seconds!"

The vulpine braced himself. He put his paw up to the small ceiling of the drop pod. He turned the handle, and felt it unlock. He rolled his fingers across the handle, and awaited the signal. It felt like the longest ten seconds of his life, but before he knew it, it was time.

"Deploy now!" Weaver said over the comm.

Syxx barked into the headset. "Green light! Green Light!"

The vulpine pulled in on the handle as hard as could, and satisfyingly it gave way to his might. It felt like his stomach had been lifted out of him. He griped on the handles as his heart wrenched out of his chest. The pod fell quickly into space, and for a moment all was completely silent, until the small, but powerful jets on the pods ignited, and he felt the speed immediately increase. There was no flying the craft. There was just holding on, and hoping for the best. If it entered the atmosphere in as little as three degrees off the angle of attack, the shuttle would burn from the outside in, casting him to oblivion.

He could feel his own pod rumble as battle ships lit up their guns. He tried to look up at the ship he had just left, but he couldn't see that far upward. He could only see the planet racing toward him, and the sight of dozens of ships of all sizes, from cruisers to fighters pass right by him.

He truly did feel helpless. All he could do was hold on.

The pod bolted past the guns of the last ship, bursting through the orbital field of the planet. The shuttle hurtled toward the now orange-ish shaded and black spotted planet below. The shuttle soon warmed, increasingly, and ever faster with every kilometer he got closer. He could no longer see the darkness of space around him, but the full on view of the planet. The atmosphere of the planet cooked the shuttle. He watched the glass at the base of the window burn as he entered the atmosphere. The whistling above his head stopped as the jets ran out of fuel. His heart leaped as the shuttle let out a mighty thump, and it wobbled, before flying perfectly true. He knew the overhead engine had blown off to keep the craft from becoming top heavy. A larger one on the bottom would soon ignite.

Syxx watched blackness creep up the glass as the shell burned. "I think something is wrong." He said almost calmly. "Anybody else burning up?"

Max was the first to answer. "Mine is too. The atmosphere on Corneria has changed… but I think it might just be photonic residue."

Syxx crossed his fingers, hoping that the blackness was just that. When he looked down again, he saw the engines below him fire, before the blackness crept up further. The last thing he saw below himself was falling toward dark clouds. He looked straight ahead realizing he was falling through a red sky. The residue burned further up the glass, and soon he was completely blind. He had no idea where he was falling to.

He waited for over a minute in silence, and in fear. He felt a heavy tug on the harness, as the craft slowed down exponentially, but maybe not slow enough. The vulpine grit his teeth hard, closed his eyes, and tucked his chin into his neck. All at once he felt like he came to a complete stop. The fox could hear the ground crushed beneath him. His teeth rattled in his skull, and the wind was knocked out of his chest. His head pounded in pain for a moment, but that quickly passed.

He listened for a moment in the silence, hearing small rocks and fragments on the ground around him, land and roll. The first thing he felt for was the SMG that he had put at his side. The vulpine grabbed the pistol grip, and held it in his right paw only. Syxx took a deep breath. He pulled a lever, and the hatch hissed, but didn't open. He tightened the grip on the weapon, not knowing quite what to see on the other side of the plastered glass. He pressed his back to the leather backing on the pod, and with a furious kick the door flew off the hinges. Syxx followed right behind. Leaping out with the SMG at his waist, and his other arm ready with his paw and forearm in front, he was ready for anything that lie ahead.

The vulpine waited for the dust to clear around him. He couldn't see a thing. He stepped forward slowly stumbling on some rubble, and quickly regaining his footing. He couldn't tell if he was outside. The vulpine moved his paw around a wall, and found a door knob. He acquired the door with feel only. He put the gun to his chest, and kicked in the door. He was greeted by light. He quickly got on the other side of the door, and closed it. When he turned he noticed he was in a stairwell. He looked over the crippled railing to the well below. Thousands of pounds of rubble lay below. He turned his glance upward, expecting to see and ceiling, but only blood red sky.

His jaw dropped within his helmet, as he ascended up the remaining stairs, and reached the top of the building. Well, it wasn't quite the top. It was the top of what was left of the building. It was what was left of an office. Some of the cubicles still remained standing on the top of this building. The rug was covered with debris, cement, twisted steel, and among other things, bodies. All of which by now were rotting in the radioactive environment. This floor wasn't completely flat, portions of this floors walls still remained intact as bent steel failed in its attempt to keep the walls upright. In one corner of the building this floor had collapsed to three below it, and Syxx could feel that the building was on an angle.

The vulpine walked over to the North edge of the (for all intents and purposes was) the roof of the structure. The blast had come from the south, and literally just pushed the top half of the building over. He could see it scattered below on the roads of Corneria city, beneath all the other ones.

That was when it hit him. This… this was Corneria. The Lylatian capital. The vulpine held the weapon hard at his side, surveying all the chaos and damage. He stared out over the city. White ash covered everything, dozens of trails of smoke led up into the sky, and black clouds covered the horizon, only a mask of Solar shone in the sky. Buildings, nothing but wreckage, and many of the streets carried a current of dirty sea water from the close by ocean. He now stands on one of the tallest buildings that remained in the city.

Something tugged at his heart. Something he had never felt in years it seemed like. He felt shame. _He knew he was condemned now. He had to live with this shame, live with this regret. Above all, he had to keep his eyes on the prize_.

The vulpine took a deep breath, and looked down. A body lay face down at his feet, he kicked it over. The ash fell off its back, and it turned to reveal a disfigured and rotted face of what he thought to be another fox. The muzzle was nothing but bone and patches of flesh, and his eyes had rotted from his skull, leaving nothing but brown holes in his face. Dried blood covered his patched neck down to his mutilated torso.

The black fox looked at him for a short moment, and with a push of his boot, sent the body over the edge of the building. He didn't watch it fall. He heard bones snap and flash rip as he sent the limp body off the edge of the building, to bounce off any obtrusions from the building and to land on the ruins of the street below.

He laughed. "_I will win_."

A soft breeze fluttered the ash around him, rolling it over his boots. He stared out over the horizon on the city, before quickly spinning around. He stepped toward the center of the build; right where his pod landed. He hit almost dead center. He came to edge of the gaping hole in the center of the roof top. He looked two stories downward to see the smoldering pod.

Syxx took a deep breath, and activated his communication channel with the blink of an eye. "This is Syxx. I've made it to the surface of Corneria. Does anyone copy?"

He waited a moment, but there was no reply. It was silent.

"Sh-t." He growled, and kicked a rock down the hole of the floor.

He went back to edge of the building. Though there were many trails of smoke in the sky, it was impossible to tell which one could be from a pod. His own didn't leave a trail at all; just a dusted hole in the building, but that had already cleared as well.

He spoke again. "Does anyone copy?"

A signal came in choppy, and the voice on the other line coughed. "This is Max." He coughed again. "I'm on the surface."

"What's your status?"

"I'm shaken, but overall I'm ok. What's your position Syxx?"

"I'm in the city center. You see the tall buildings that are left?"

It took a moment for him to reply. "I see them."

Syxx held up his rifle tall in the air. "I'm on the tower furthest to the East."

Another moment passed. "Roger that. I'm on the move."

"Have you made contact with Pyro?"

"Negative. I saw a pod drop after I got my door off. It looked like it landed in the Northern Corridor of the city."

Syxx turned, looking toward the North. "Affirmative. Hoof it over to my position, and we'll take a look."

"Copy that. I'm mobile. See you in ten."

"Out." Syxx shut down the channel.

The building was now only perhaps twenty stories high. A dwarf to what is had been before the blast. The vulpine began to head down the stairwell. He climbed over all the rubble and debris that had piled up to get to his pod. From it, he collected the two rifles that were inside, extra mags, and the grenades. He slung the two rifles over his back. The two weapons crossed over his armour. He continued down the stairs. Sometimes, he had to swing from the railing and jump down an additional level, and other times he would have to stop and move debris off the stairs, so he could continue onward, but soon he neared the bottom floor.

The black Slayer neared the doors that would lead him out of the stairwell, and into the lobby. It was hard to operate with thermal vision down here, when everything was cold, and there was absolutely no light what so ever to work with. He did most of the way by feel. When he came to the door, he tried to open it, but it was locked. Three steel dead bolts kept him inside.

He was about to kick the door, but a sliver of a sound caught his attention. He spun around like he never had before. He had been in combat a lot, but it was dark down here. The sound frightened him, he couldn't see even with the heat vision. He kept his back against the door, and heard the rifles grind against the stone as he strafed. He could hear something. He could hear it moving, and crawling around, as it bumped into things.

He moved the muzzle of the weapon around in the darkness, but he couldn't see anything. He pressed his back hard against the door, when he thought he would jump out of his fur, when a hard BANG BANG BANG came from the other side.

"Syxx? Hey you in there?" He heard a voice from behind the door.

He put his paw on his forehead, taking a deep breath as his light headedness passed. "Max? Get me out of here." He remained calm. "I don't think I am alone."

"You ok?"

"Now Max!"

"Roger that!" The voice said. "Stand clear of the door Syxx."

"Copy. Standing by."

Syxx listened on the other side of the door as he heard packs opening, and the clicking of objects.

The black fox repeated himself. "Standing by." His voice sounded impatient.

"Fire in the hole!" Max quickly yipped. The door blew off the hinges in a quick blast of pressure and air. The Slayer came around the corner entering the small stairwell with his rifle drawn. "Breaching! Breaching!"

Syxx kept close to the wall, and exited the room. He glanced down at his feet as movement caught his eye. He froze in mid step. "Whoa!"

Rats off all shapes and sizes ran past his feet. They scattered in the lobby, each looking for its own new dark place to hide.

Max stepped into the lobby. "Gross… what do they have left to eat?"

"Bodies." Syxx stated, emotionlessly.

"Yuck."

Syxx stepped away from Max, and out into the streets. "You alright?"

"I've had better days."

"No word on Pyro yet?" Syxx asked.

"Like I said. I saw a pod land in the Northern Corridor of the city." Max looked at the rifles on Syxx's back. "You look battle ready."

He almost laughed. "Just counter-measures." Syxx tightened his helmet, to ensure no radiation could be getting in through the seal. "Let's move out then. See if he's still kicking."

"Hold on."

Syxx turns around on his heel. "What?"

"I don't know who's left in this city. I don't know who survived. I do know one thing though. The city is controlled by militia's. Now, they are small and scattered, but still are dangerous. We better watch it. They hide at the tops of buildings, and wait until someone walks by, and then they jump them."

Syxx turned again, looking toward the North. "Well, let's see if we can get there without that happening." He looked into the street. Everything covered in ash, overturned cars filled the street around him, and some parts were completely blocked off by collapsed buildings. All was silent. He could still remember how this city used to buzz with life. Now everything didn't move, like it was stuck in a destructive time.

Max nodded quickly. They both raise their weapons to their shoulders, and run into the street, disappearing in the haze of the toxic planet.


	13. Ashes

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
**_SyxxFox_**  
Chapter XIII  
Ashes**_  
_

Slowly the swells of light seep through,  
As we breathe in the darkened sky,  
And in times of grace,  
Replace my distaste,  
See the flare as they all fade away,

White water won't wash away,  
Don't let it confuse,  
The road to soul is lonely at best,  
And I've arrived at empty.

**36 CrazyFists**** – **_**"White Water"

* * *

**_

This was Corneria. For some reason Syxx couldn't get it through his head. It didn't look like it. It Looked like Titania. More like a baron wasteland than anything else; blood red sky, black clouds, ash… and corpses of the dead. Every time his boot hit the pavement, a ring of dust would shoot out from under him, leaving a small cloud at his feet. It no longer rained white flakes, and much of it had been swept away by the wind, leaving the ground in cinders, and death. They roamed the residential streets of the city. Syxx gripped the SMG Mapaw tightly, and Max led. They mostly kept silent, surveying the damage, and scanning for threats. Until Max took knee, and put his paw up. Syxx immediately hunched over, and lifted the weapon to his shoulder. He stared down the iron sights.

Max was frozen. He didn't move an inch until he jumped up. "Keep low. Follow me." He ran.

Syxx followed right behind him, running with his eye to the gun's sights. Max crouched at a truck. It had no windows, and it had been torched by someone. Max peeked up over the hood. "There."

Syxx looked through the broken windows. Out in the street, past the corner, there were over a dozen figures. They were all wrapped heavily in clothing, goggles, and some kind of homemade suits. Syxx knew what they wore wasn't tough enough to save them from radiation, but it might be enough to slow exposure, and sickness. They were just using what they had. They all stood in the middle of an intersection, almost motionless, but they were alive. Some had old hunting weapons, others had pistols, but most just had bat's or chunks of wood; a militia, or part of one.

Syxx lowered himself, sitting on his tail, and his back to the truck. "It's not our problem. Let's bypass them." With a touch of his pad, he turned invisible, sneaking by the scout militia. Rings danced around his feet, the only part that would be visible.

* * *

X

* * *

It was a long way to the North of the city. Max led him to a small commercial area of the city. Dozens of small businesses stretched along the streets, on either side. It was easy to get jumped here. All were dark. Some were boarded up. Syxx wondered if there was any that had survived on the other side. If there were, it wouldn't be much longer before their supplies ran out. The thought perished.

Max motioned his helmet forward. "There it is. That's it."

Syxx pushed his chest back, and took point. He saw a silver and blue drop pod. It landed on the sidewalk. The pavement was crushed beneath it. The hatch was closed. Syxx flipped his paw. He pointed the weapon right at the door of the craft, usually you could see through the window, but it was covered by the blackness of plasma vapour. Syxx put his left paw on the front of the weapon. Max swung by him, putting aside his gun. His gloves locked on the pod, and he stopped. Syxx nodded. Max pulled the door off the pod. The fox stuck his weapon inside the chamber. Where he had expected to see a body, there was nothing. It was empty. He spun around on one knee, pointing his weapon down the road.

"It's clear." He said.

"Shit." Max growled. "Captured?"

"I don't know. Maybe. If that's the case, he's probably dead. I don't think these are the kind'a people who take prisoners. If they can I.D. him as a Slayer, he's finished."

Max nodded. "Grab weapons and ammo. We need it more than he does."

Syxx turned back to the inside. He looked around in the pod. He spotted one back rifle on the wall. He grabbed it from off the wall. When the rifle left the wall, there was a subtle, but swift _click._ A pin fell to Syxx's boots.

Syxx pulled the rifle out of the pod, and ran. "Grenade." He said calmly but loudly.

Max followed tightly behind Syxx. They ran down the road. After Syxx had counted to four, he jumped to the ground, and covered his head. Max did the same thing. As soon as his body came to a stop after the slide, the cement rumbled, and a huge detonation went off behind them, lighting up the ground, and the entire block. Smoke consumed them both, but quickly cleared, and blew over. Rocks and chips of gravel showered the ground around them.

When that had stopped, Syxx clipped the Mapaw to his leg, and sauntered up with the assault rifle at his arm. Syxx now had four large weapons on his body; two rifles crossed over his back, the Mapaw at his side, and the AR in his right paw. He coughed and tried to regain the wind that had been knocked out of him. "Booby-trap."

Max had his pistol out now. "No shit."

Syxx walked back to the smouldered pod. There was only the bottom half left. It had been completely destroyed. He kicked the rubble, and watched a rock roll and bounce down the road.

"What the h-ll you kids doing here!"

Syxx spun, crouching to the ground, and pointing the weapon up toward the roof of the building, his claw tip touched the trigger of the black rifle, as he stared through the low powered scope. There was only a dim silhouette in the red sky. He made out a figure, against a banner on top of a building. There he was; it was Pyro.

The vulpine got to his feet. "Sh-t Pyro. You could'a gotten us both killed."

The coon leaped from the top of a building. He landed on a car. The windows all shattered as he landed, and his boots dented the roof in. From there he jumped to the ground. He stepped up to Syxx, and pulled the rifle out of his hands. "I figured you guys would be the only ones to survive something like that." He pulled back the action on the M28 Assault Rifle, and slung it over his shoulder. "I've had some problems with the guerrillas around here. As soon as I landed, they were crawling all over me. Almost didn't make it out. I figured if any more came, that little grenade trick would take care of anyone who was trying to track me."

"Why didn't you check in?" Syxx asked.

Pyro just pointed at the side of his helmet. On the left side, there was an incredible tare across the steel, exposing insulations, and wires. His visor was also cracked, as it spider webbed from left to right, and silver cracks tore through it.

Syxx brushed the metal wound. "Damn."

Pyro rubbed it too. "I still got a seal, but the nano-bots can't repair the electrical systems, and the gash in the armour is too jagged. Not clean, like plasma scoring. My HUD still works, but the helmets optics got baked. The speakers and mic are blown out in the helmet I think."

"No complaints?" Syxx laughed.

He shrugged. "Let's get this mission underway."

"What happened?" Max asked.

Pyro spoke through grit teeth. "I let someone get to close. Almost took my head off. A f-ck-ng big guy. Twice my size."

Max touched Syxx's shoulder with his own. "We gotta' get moving. If there are any militia's around here, they are going to be crawling all over us in no time. You must'a been able to see that cloud of smoke across the city."

"Agreed." The vulpine said simply. "Pyro, you good?"

The raccoon coughed. "As good as ever."

* * *

X

* * *

It was going to take them all day to pass back across the city. Every once and while Pyro would stop, and try to get a vehicle running, but most were too new, and had fried electronics during the EMP. He entered one, and a body fell out. He grabbed the body by the belt, and tossed it across the pavement. He got the lights of the car to turn on, but that was as far as it went. He forced the door shut to the old car, but the framing was bent, and it just bounced off.

They all walked the downtown of the city. They carried over the rubble of the once mighty structures. The streets were still filled with bodies, all rotting in the sun, and the radiation. Syxx had no intensions to take off his helmet to see what the air smelled like. He imagined it would smell burnt, and stale, but he didn't want to find out. The streets were dead. He pictured the avenue filled with people, going to work, and walking up and down the road which was always filled with cars, busses, and taxis.

They made it through the downtown core, and toward the military complex, on the west side of the city. Large steel bared fences surrounded the structure.

Syxx stopped at the edge of a street. He looked toward the complex. The actual building was in about a kilometer from the gates. He could see it in the distance. Lamp posts had been knocked over onto the fences. There were bodies that lay across the posts, and hanging over the fence as they died in hopes of finding as escape. The vulpine pulled up his SMG, holding it across his chest. His back was against the last building that would protect them from whatever lay ahead. Ahead, there was a single large two-way road, with deep ditches on either side.

Syxx peaked around the corner, seeing the complex in the distance. He stared at the building for a while, before pulling himself back around the corner. "Snipers."

Pyro, and Max were right beside him against the building.

The raccoon, peaked out, just to see how far away the building was. "How do you know?"

Syxx pulled him back in. "I can sense it. Good enough?"

Pyro was pushed back into the wall. "So, we'll cloak our way up to the bunker."

"They aren't dumb. They'll have thermals up again. These suites produce heat, they don't mask it." Syxx paused. "Move in quick short jumps. From open to cover. Don't get caught in the open. Or you are dead. We'll get across the street, and take it from there."

Pyro put the weapon on the hook over his leg. "Ok, let's do it."

Syxx peeked out around the corner again. "From here to the ditch. Got it? Stay low."

The vulpine pressed his back to the wall of the building. He put out his paw, and counted from _three… two… one_. At one, he rolled his shoulder around the corner at a full out sprint. He felt vulnerable. He hated it. He could feel cross hairs setting over him. The fox slide across the hood of a car. The Vortec screeched across it, ripping the paint off. He landed at his knee, and rolled across the dead grass, and into the ditch. He landed on his back with it propped up against the uphill slope on the covering side of the ditch, looking the direction he had come. He watched Pyro roll into the ditch, and Max hold his weapon into his chest, and dive into the grass. They all stopped, frozen, not a sound was heard. They waited, but there was nothing.

Syxx looked up over the trench, and across the road. He still couldn't see anything. "Move!" He barked.

The Slayers all hopped to their feet. They ran across the road, and all jumped into the ditch on the other side. There was still nothing, as they all hit the dirt. All was silent. The black clouds didn't even seem to move. Syxx could see the gate, where usually, people were let in. There was a car parked at the gates to the entrance.

Max was getting impatient. "Syxx there isn't anyone there. We would have had contact by now if they were scouting."

Syxx hissed. "Prove me wrong."

"They would have shot at us by now. They wouldn't wait for us to get this close."

Syxx looked at Pyro, as they all paused. The coon shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I'm with you. You've kept me alive this long."

Max poked his head up over the ditch. "There's no one there. I'm telling you."

"Enough." The fox growled. "Let's get to that car. If we can push it forward, then we can use it as cover. We are not here to engage, we are here to survey. But either way, we have to enter the base and get a sense of what we are up against. Maybe we can find some intel on what they have left. Our ordinance can't puncture the fallout shelter."

"Right." Max said sarcastically.

The black vulpine growled. "Okay, ready? Let's go for it!"

The super soldiers jumped forward, running out of the ditch and up the road to the complex entrance. They all took cover behind the small car, pointing in toward the open gate. It was fairly clear that the gate had been smashed over, by something much larger. The gate lay in a heap of twisted metal, just beyond the entrance. They all now had their backs to the small car.

"Plan?" Pyro asked.

Syxx holstered the SMG on his leg. "Simple. Push."

With that, they all started pushing against the car. It didn't move at first, and then it would go forward slightly and stop, and come back ward. The Slayers continued rocking the car, until a satisfying _ping_ was heard from the transmission of the car. The vehicle rolled back toward them. They lost ground slightly before they were able to push it forward again. Once they got it going, it rolled quite easily. It felt like they were making good ground. They put their backs into it, pushing, just fast enough so they could keep up with the truck, while still remaining under its cover. It was going well, until the vehicle came to a solid stop. The warriors piled into the bumper of the truck.

"Damn. We have hit something." Pyro stumbled to get behind the cover.

Syxx glanced under the truck, past the axels. "Can you see what it is?"

Max hissed at them both. "Oh come on! This is bullsh-t!" He stood up.

Syxx's jaw dropped. "Get down now!"

"You think there're people in there that are alive! The whole city is controlled by militias now! There is no Corneria Military left! Not here! You did it Syxx! You blew them up! It's-"

The truth was that Syxx had closed his eyes a long time ago, and determined Max's fate inside his head. Something was growing within his mind. He could hear the sound of a bolt, being pulled back as if it were right in front of him. He could hear the sound of it slamming forward in the chamber, and the pins moving within the weapon. The vulpine could visualize the glowing white mass at the center of the thermal sight. It was as if he himself could feel his paw resting on the trigger, and pulling it in, letting the battery fire.

The blast came as no surprise to him. He could hear the sound of a heavy round echo around him. After the sound of the report, the fox slide his eyes open. The first thing he saw was Max standing there, completely stunned. A hole had been pierced through the armour, going in one side and out the other. Max didn't say anything. He stood motionless. He dropped the SMG. The weapon bounced off the ground, landing at Max's boot. Syxx now noticed the blood splatter on his own visor. The vulpine's heart bounced as two more shots were fired in quick succession of each other. They both came from different directions. The breast plat of the Vortec was ripped off, and blood splashed the ground, as the two battery rounds punched their way through the insignificant plating. Max stumbled backward one step, and fell to the ground. It shook as the Vortec landed. Blood pooled around the wound quickly seeping into the cracks of the cement. The Slayer hit the dirt for the last time.

Syxx and Pyro each watched the body fall to the ground. They both remained emotionless. Not moving. They just stared at the body… falling.

Pyro raised an eyebrow. "Tough to kill."

Syxx took a breath after a short time. "We're not invincible Pyro." He looked at him. "We can die."

"_Slowly the swells of light seep through_." He replied.

Syxx leaned out, and grabbed the dead Slayer by the boot. They felt no pity for the Slayer, just as they were trained. It was just another death in their books. He pulled the body toward him, and turned it around, laying it before him. "Grab his helmet Pyro."

Pyro cocked his head. "Huh?"

Syxx spoke again. "It's not doing him any good now, is it?"

Pyro touched the cracked across his visor. "That's right."

"Make it quick. I don't know how much exposure it takes to kill a guy."

Pyro shook his head. "F-ck me."

Syxx smiled. "_Breath in the darkened sky, white water won't wash away_."

Pyro sat down on his tail like a kit. "_And in times of grace-_" he went for it.

Pyro pulled the helmet off Max's head. It revealed the grey cat. His eyes were closed, and his glasses were both cracked, blood dripped down his whiskers. He then opened his helmet, put it down beside him, slipped on his old HUD. "_Replace my distaste."_ He spoke in the burnt air, outside his helmet before he lowered the new one over his head. Syxx saw dried blood covering the left lower side of his muzzle, where he had taken the blow. Pyro took his old ripped helmet, and put it back over the dead Slayer's head.

"Wait." Syxx said. "I'm going to crawl under the truck, and see what's in the way." The vulpine got down on his chest, and slowly crawled his way to the front of the vehicle. He saw glass on the ground. The light had been smashed out on the truck. He still couldn't see what it was that was stopped them though.

"Shit." Syxx slid black to the rear of the truck.

"Any good?"

"We're SOL."

"F-ck." Pyro barked. He paused. "So what's the plan? The way I see it is, if we run, were toast. How are even going to get off this planet? I doubt any shuttle on the surface even works."

Syxx slid down the tailgate, now sitting on his tail. "F-ck." He whispered. He put his head down, leaning the visor on the rifle. "F-ck."

Syxx started at the dead Slayer. "Rig him up." The Slayer took his Mapaw SMG, and held it in his other paw, now duel wielding both weapons.

"Got it." Pyro pulled the body closer. He grabbed an explosive charge from off his belt, and placed it on Max's chest; he then turned over the body. To them this was training, and in reality, the Vortec was still operational. Even in training, this was typical. If a Slayer could not be retrieved, it was up to the job of another to go in and either kill the Slayer, or destroy the armour, and in some cases, it would be both.

Pyro held the detonator. "We're set."

"Let's get moving then. Keep low, and move fast."

"Ready. Let's get on with it." Pyro smiled.

"Move out!" Syxx leaped out from behind the truck. There was another larger military vehicle parked beside them. The fox ran up the over the tailgate, over the floodlights, and rolled over the hood, finding cover behind it the engine block. The explosion quickly followed, dust and rocks rained down on him. Pyro's body soon followed. Syxx heard the hard thump of a body land on the hood, and roll past him. The windshield got cracked from the Slayer

The coon bounced off the hood, and his body hit the ground. "Wooo! There's one for the highlight real!" He cheered. He pointed his rifle around the front tire of the truck. He blind fired the SMG around the corner toward the base, as fire came their way. They were still a good distance away, over a half click.

The vulpine peaked around the corner of the vehicle. "Let's do this like how we were taught! Don't keep your head out too long, and don't come over cover at the same position." The black fox hugged his gloves around each pistol grip of the SMGs. "Covering fire!" He put his fingers on each of the double triggers that each weapon had to offer. He stood up, and turned himself toward the building. He held in the trigger of each weapon. They flashed furiously, and rumbled in each of his paws. Each Mapaw rattled as the hot cylinders flew toward the far off complex. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Pyro run ahead. He let off on the triggers, firing them in quick bursts. Syxx got down behind the military truck once more. Plasma rounds riddled the ground around him, and over his shoulders.

Pyro spoke through the microphone calmly. "In position. Stand by for fire support _Syxxie_."

Syxx waited. He watched each of the temperature meters on the weapons slowly fall back to normal levels.

Before he knew it Pyro was back on the radio. "Covering. Green light."

Syxx leaped, over the hood of the truck, and ran through the box. He still couldn't see any sharpshooters from here. As he ran, he would put out one paw, and aim it toward the rooftops of the complex, and fire. He tried to run in a zigzag, making it hard for them to hit him. Syxx could see all the dead bodies, and how far they had made it, he struggled not to trip over any. There were a lot, possibly hundreds scattered throughout the complex surroundings. There was defiantly a force to be reckoned with, within these walls.

The vulpine heard the sound of a shot. The ground in front of him lifted at his feet. He saw the small crater that the projectile made right at his feet. Bits of pavement smashed into his helmet, and he heard the ricochet of the battery round. Syxx fell to his side after that, his shoulder pad scraped across the cement. He found himself once again behind a vehicle. This one was extremely small, and pointed toward the complex.

He stayed low, putting one paw over the trunk of the vehicle. He pulled in the trigger, and sprayed the entire area. "On me." He said swiftly.

He watched from where he had come from, Pyro bolted up, and slid on his side. He ran into the trunk of the vehicle, smashing it in. "Owww." He fell to the cement.

Just as fast, he put his back to it, and they started pushing together. The car was light and it went fast. Pyro spun and pushed it with his chest, and arms.

Syxx came off from the car. "Keep pushing!" He poked up from the over the car, and fired both SMGs. He could hear the shots coming at them. He saw one blast through the windshield of the car, and another smash the trunk, and pass right through it to where Pyro was pushing, just missing him. The vents on the Mapaws both opened, and vapour radiated out.

Syxx ducked again, behind the fast moving car. "Hot!" The vulpine then pushed, and Pyro covered. The sniper rounds narrowly missed him. A rocket flew over the car, and hit the ground behind them, sending shards and smoke their way, and making their ears ring. Syxx could now hear more than just snipers fire, he could hear rifles. He watched the plasma bolts riddle of the ground behind him, and listened to them slap the car.

Pyro crouched beside him. "Problem!"

"What! What is it!" around the side of the car, he could now see silhouettes on the building, against the roof on the second story. When he glanced down, he saw the car heading right for another vehicle. They were going to crash. "When the car hits, don't stop moving! Dash for it!"

Seconds later, the car crashed into the parked tank. The sound of glass smashing was nothing but white noise in the hot air. When it hit, the Slayers both rolled out from opposite sides of the car. Syxx activating his cloaking, the building was within reach. The cloaking helped, but didn't solve his problem. He turned on his own thermals, but they weren't as advanced as knew ones, and the detail was low. He saw Pyro running right beside him, and the other silhouettes on the rooftop. A tracer of plasma rounds bolted toward Pyro. They washed across him. Syxx heard him yip through the armour, and he kept running. The cloaking discharged, and Pyro was once again visible.

Syxx's armour discharged too. Sparks washed across it. His was disabled because he fired the SMG in order to draw fire from Pyro. The thermals via his HUD, he could see red blobs on the roof. He pointed both guns at different ones, and fired. They both dropped, but Syxx couldn't be sure if he got them, or they covered. Never the less, it would give them the boost the make it to the building. Syxx had planned to jump through the window, but they were all boxed up with sheet metal. Instead he hit the side of the steel structure making it vibrate, Pyro was quickly behind. For a moment all was silent.

"Good?" Syxx asked.

"Just a graze. I think it actually did miss me."

The vulpine laughed, as they both hugged the building. He thought they were out of it, before a small yellow, and blue orb hit the ground in front of them. They both took off running immediately stopping the middle of their laugh. They hugged the side of the structure as they ran, and just as fast as they were out, they were back in. Syxx saw another land right beside him. Knowing that he would make it past, and not Pyro, he stopped, and picked up the orb, he didn't hesitate to throw it as soon as it was in his paw. He lobbed it straight upward, and didn't stop to watch it explode, he just ran. The world shook around him as what felt like dozens of grenades went off around them. Gravel smashed into his body, and smoke filled his vision. Rocks riddled his body, and punctured the suit. He could smell burnt air, as he in took the atmosphere of Corneria. He coughed hard as he felt the radiation against his body. The Aparoids and nano-bots quickly patched the hole though.

Syxx froze when he heard a pause in the chain of explosives. Pyro stepped quietly to catch up with him, and stuck to the wall beside him. They both looked up, but they could see nothing, just the red sky beyond the building. He heard another grenade drop; he looked to his right, noticing its distance. He turned away not moving, or breathing. He felt the blast shock his armour, but that was about the worst.

Pyro waited for a long while before saying anything. "That f-ck-ng sucked." He was rattled.

"Let's look for an entrance."

"Step lightly." Pyro added. "They'll be listening for us."

Syxx led, as they kept their backs to the wall. They circled the entire building, there was no entrance. All the windows were boarded up, and welded over with sheet metal. They wouldn't be able to get in from the bottom. Not without some tools.

The vulpine finally stopped walking, and knelt down. "I don't think they want any visitors."

Pyro picked the last D22 explosive charge from his kit. "I can get us in."

"Put that away!" The fox hissed. "I want them to think we are dead."

"I thought we were going to minimize engagement on this mission."

"Plans change." He simply said.

"So… we are… trying to… get in?"

"I've been to the fallout shelter in this base. If they have it locked down, not even that charge will get us through the doors."

"Why don't we just bomb the fuck out of them?" Pyro asked.

"Pyro?"

"What?"

Syxx spun and glared at him. "How are we going to get the ships to this planet if their entire navy is ready to blow us up? We could wait… but if they plan to rebuild and regroup, it might be too late before the Aparoids get to the planet's surface before we can take them out. They're completely self-sufficient down there. They don't need anything from the surface." Syxx sighed and pressed back against the wall. "What if we waited for a bombing run?"

Pyro shook his head. "Not gonna' work. I've seen the shell of the fallout structure. None of the bombs we have could pierce that." Pyro pushed his back against the wall. He felt the wall bend inward. He spun around, and pressed his paw into it. It was sheet metal that had been placed over an open window. It wasn't very thick; perhaps a half centimeter at the most. "I can get us through this though." He lightly tapped on it. "It's going to attract a lot of attention though… attention we don't want. I can't say what will happen on the other side. We'll be on the wrong side on the funnel."

Syxx motioned his head up toward the top of the building. He thought hard before he answered. "Do it. If the fire power on the other side is too strong… we'll have to fall back, and try to find a way off the surface."

Pyro smiled inside his helmet, excited to blow something up again. "Sounds good man!" He tilted his rifle up on the wall, and reached into the small pack on his back. He stuck a small yellow-green charge onto wall, and began programming it, while Syxx kept a watchful eye around them. Syxx and Pyro parted ways, each going on opposite sides of the charged wall.

Syxx tightened both paws around his SMGs. "Standing-by."

Pyro delivered the phrase smoothly, and clearly. "Fire in the hole."


	14. Black gives way to Blue

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter XIV  
Black gives way to Blue  
**_Syxxfox_

"_You can't say that you ever,  
wanted what was best for us,  
You my friend are a liar,  
Taken what was left of our trust,_

_You will sit and you'll listen,  
To every f-ck-ng word that I say,  
All the shit I have taken,  
This is why we have to fight!_

_And you feel something better,  
Something real,  
That you can't love,  
That you can't steal from me,_

_Fight!  
And you feel something better,  
Something real,  
That you can't love,  
That you can't bleed out of me"_

**Crash Karma**** – **_**"Fight"

* * *

**_

The food actually wasn't all that bad. A large cafeteria and common area was on one of the middle floors of the fallout shelter. It wasn't very furnished though. All was plain silver, and stainless steel with basic wooden tables for people to sit on and around. Better than what lie behind the walls.

Krystal and Katt waited in line to eat. Krystal held her tray into her chest, and brushed back her blue hair with a claw tip. Katt had given her a haircut a few nights ago. She liked it better this way, because the way things were right now, it wouldn't be every day that she would be able to have a shower. Usually she had the chance to have one every other day. She was in a blue and black jumpsuit which led down to white running shoes. Some locks of her hair, she had beaded with some of the Cerinian jewellery that she had, and she wore a gold necklace with the large jewel, as well as her indigenous tiara.

She stared at the floor off to her right, only moving when the line for the concession progressed forward. She chewed on her lower lip.

Katt spun around. "Oh come on Krystal! Cheer up!"

Krystal turned her head up toward her. "I'm not sad."

"Well you look like it."

She smiled. "I'm not. Don't worry." The little fox paused. "So what you getting to eat?"

"Like we ever have much of a choice!" It's going to be potatoes and something else again. It's always potatoes." Katt's pink ears lowered.

They made their way to the front of the line, and put their treys up on the top of the glass counter. They were quickly served with their food, and were passed on. They found a table at the corner of the dining center, and sat down together, across the table from each other.

Krystal grimaced that the questionable meal that had been placed in front of her. There was a clump of mush, with some kind of brown sauce that had been spread over it, which she could only assume to be gravy, and a small pile of vegetables, and small slab of meat. She played with it with the tip of her fork, before she took a drink out of her glass of water. An ice cube hit her fang, and she winced as she bided the cold.

Katt also played with the food. "Always potatoes… every – freeking – time."

Krystal loaded her fork, just before she put it in her mouth she spoke. "We should be thankful for what we have."

"Yeah, I guess."

One thing that Krystal had noticed about Katt as she spent more time with her was that she was a little _prissy_. She wasn't raised the way that she was, but then again, no one was raised the way she was… so many years alone. Katt didn't like to get dirty, and often she spoiled herself at stores. Krystal valued relationships rather that items, perhaps because she had never had anyone before Fox had rescued her.

Krystal chewed the food. Really, she didn't have any problem with it. There was one thing that gave her constant headaches though. She was a telepath, and with the state of this planet, this was no place for her. She almost could hear the cries of agony. She could feel the pain of a billion souls beckoning down upon her. All the souls but one… the one that she still couldn't detect; the soul of this planet's destructor.

"Well." Katt said. "We are in a better place than Dash."

Krystal sighed. "We're lucky to be here Katt."

Katt tried some of the food, and put down the fork. "No. You are the one who is lucky to be here." She pointed at Krystal. "You got in just before they closed the gates. I'm surprized that the rioting didn't start earlier."

Krystal rested her muzzle on her palm, her tail drooped. "I wouldn't call myself that exactly." She mumbled.

"What?" Katt said, as she played with her food.

Krystal swallowed hard. "Katt… what if I told you… that I know who is doing all of this?"

Katt chewed her food, paused, and forward from here seat. "Do you?"

Krystal froze for a moment, indecisive of her next action. Instead of speaking, she just nodded with a mouth full of food.

"What's their name?"

Krystal shook her head. She put down the fork, and put her arms on the table. "I think its Fox."

"Fox? Fox McCloud?"

Krystal just nodded.

Katt shook and turned back to the meal. "Sometimes I really worry about you Krystal."

"Why wouldn't you believe me? What if it was?"

"The way I look at it, is that you have led a pretty traumatic life. Fox died years ago. Krystal… why can't you understand that? I know you love him… that won't bring him back."

"What if I was right?"

"Alright. I'll humour you. Let's start from the beginning shall we? Fox died about three years ago. If he didn't die, he disappeared without a trace. If he were on Corneria, he would have been found almost immediately."

"Maybe he didn't want to be found."

"Moving on." Katt dismissed the thought. "Fox was… is… iconic. He wouldn't be able to unleash so much on the system without being stopped. He couldn't do this alone. No one could! Besides Krystal, why would he go through all that anyways? He had no grudge against us."

The vixen picked up her fork once more, lowering her head in shame. She cut the meat with the edge of the fork, and stabbed the small piece. She brought it up to her muzzle, and smelled it. She cringed, but went for a bite anyways. Right before the food touched her tongue, she stopped. Krystal froze with her mouth still open. She dropped her fork. It hit her plate hard, and bounced across the table toward Katt.

The pink feline almost had her face planted in the food trying to keep it in her fork, but she glanced up at Krystal. "No good?"

Krystal didn't answer. The blue fox closed her jaw, and fell into a state of trance. She looked like she was thinking, almost like an idea was formulating in her head, but unfortunately that wasn't it. The vixen looked at the floor, glancing around the room. Her tail slowly flowed back and forth from over the bench seat. Her eyes glanced all around the room.

"Hey. Hey! You alright?"

Krystal thought longer, lost deeply in her sixth sense.

"Krystal? Is everything ok?" Katt's emotions turned to unease.

Krystal was silent for a moment longer, before she turned upward and met Katt's eye. "No. Everything isn't ok."

"Kyrs, what's wrong?"

She wrapped her arms across her chest, holding herself tightly; she rocked back and forth for a moment, before she stared at the feline. "I think- I think they're here."

"Who? You don't mean…"

Krystal closed her eyes and nodded quickly. "They're here. They're here on Corneria. They're coming! They're looking for us!"

"_Shhhh!"_ Katt got up and put a paw over her shoulder. "Are you sure?" she had a look of stress.

Krystal just nodded.

"Stay here! I'll get Peppy!"

* * *

X

* * *

Syxx could have sworn the blast blew back the fur on him inside his helmet. The charge that Pyro had set on the sheet metal ripped through it as if it were paper. They didn't wait for a moment to pass. They jumped in through the hole in the wall, through the smoke and disappeared into the shadows of the complex, finding refuge behind one of the counters of the main cafeteria, that they had just blasted into. They hid behind it, and the glass. The floor was covered in dust, dirt, and broken glass, not to mention the garbage. They hid for a moment, and listened to the atmosphere around them. All was completely silent, and a perfect dark; nearly impossible to get around in, even with infrared.

Pyro spoke over the headset right in Syxx's ear. "Maybe we over estimated them?"

"I wouldn't count on it. Let's just hold here. They know that we're inside."

Pyro peeked his head up, looking through the glass of the concession. He could see shadows against the wall, from where they had breached. "Contact." He spun pointing his rifle at them, but not making a sound.

"Stand-down." Syxx said in a whisper.

Pyro rested his finger back from the guard to the trigger. "Too late for that! We've been spotted! Thermals!" He pulled in the trigger letting go a short burst from the rifle. Bolts hit left and right of him, breaking the glass that was around him.

Syxx poked up, and opened fire on both weapons, spraying the doorway with rounds. "I think we may have underestimated them! Split up and draw fire!"

The pair fell back into the kitchen, and separated from each other. The black fox moved through the halls. He could hear footsteps all around him, but he could barely see a thing. When he thought he saw a red figure in his vision, he opened fire, but it ducked around the corner. The vulpine watched the weapons cool, before he moved on.

Syxx rolled his shoulder around the corner. He was faced with dozens of lazer sights lined up on his body, and without any sign of warning, they opened fire. Something was different though. They weren't rifle rounds, they were something else. He saw a small bolt of blue lightning wash across his armour. At that point, everything went black. He felt his fur stand on end inside the amour. In another moment he could see again, the optics on the helmet were fuzzy, and full of digital grain. All he could see was in black, and white. An alarm rang in his ear. All the graphics on the heads up display were but a dim outline. The Vortec felt heavy, and slow, like instead of enhancing his strength, it felt like it were weighing him down.

He read a message in the bottom corner of the HUD

_Danger System Critical  
Forced System Reboot… 0.34% Complete.  
Reanimating Optics  
Estimated Time remaining… 01h. 02m. 12s._

Syxx hit the ground like a pile of bricks, and forced the armour to pull him up, but it didn't work. He slowly got up to his feet. He faced dozens of guards it felt like. All of them had a sight on his body. He didn't know what to do. He didn't move. He could feel himself in their crosshairs. The worst feeling that a slayer could sense was crosshairs resting on their body.

He spoke into the headset. "Pyro, can you hear me?"

"Don't worry I'll get you out of there. Hang on a second. I've got problems of my own!"

"Pyro you have to go. You have to leave while you still can." He paused. "I'll get out of here."

"Syxx-"

"Go." He spoke firmly in to the headset.

His replay came a moment later. "Yes Sir."

Syxx turned off the radio in the HUD.

"Put down your weapons!" One soldier in a dark green helmet, and armour barked at him.

Syxx stood at the end of the hall. He didn't move. He only tightened his grip on the handles. He heard footsteps tap behind him. He knew now that he was surrounded. He didn't let the SMG's go. Syxx stood motionless, boots firm on the dirty tile floor beneath him.

"You have three seconds to comply!" a female husky barked at him. She was larger than he.

The vulpine moved his eyes only in the helmet. There was a door to the right of him in the hall. He was surrounded on either side, so he knew that they would not open fire on him, in the risk of hitting each other. In one swift move, he rolled into small of the hallway. His paw smashed through the window to the office, and he opened the door from the inside.

"Engage!" The white husky roared.

Syxx felt the heat of plasma rounded rush past him. He went in through the door, shutting it behind him. He pulled a plasma frag off his chest, and lobbed it through the broken window out the door. He could hear soldiers shouting over the fire.

"Grenade!"

Syxx tipped over the desk, and took refuge behind it, pointing it toward the door. The blast rocked the room, sending glass and debris toward him. It splintered the finish of the desk, and shielded the fox. There was no other door to the room. But, there was a window. The window didn't look outside though… it looked down into a large dark gymnasium. The gym floor was covered in broken chairs, desks, and large speakers not to mention hundreds of other objects.

He turned back toward the doorway. The door had been blown out of it. He looked just in time to see four yellow, and blue orbs roll in toward him. They all piled in front of the desk, and some rolled behind him. Syxx jumped to his feet, and made a break for the window. The armour ploughed into the glass. He felt it bend, and suspend him for a moment, before the mass of his body smashed through. His body fell limp through the air, doing a flip. He fell back first toward the bleachers that were below him. He landed shoulders first on the wooden seats. They splintered beneath his might as he crashed through them to the floor below.

The wind was knocked out of him, and a crack ran across his helmet. His ribs rived in pain, and blood rushed to his head, tunnelling his vision. He slowly made his way to his feet before the anticipated explosion went off, shaking the air above him, and sending glass and shrapnel down on his body. The Vortec no longer protected him the way it should have been. The gym lit up extremely bright for a moment, before it went dark again.

The vulpine growled as he made his way to his feet. He wrapped his left arm around his side, holding his throbbing ribs. He limped toward the center of the gym, holding the SMG in his right paw upward, and paw tips across the double trigger. He was breathing heavy, and groaning in pain. His boots stomped across the floor, when he froze, and turned his weapons toward a corner one corner of the gym. He couldn't see behind the large speaker, chairs, and massive piles of rubble that were scattered through the gym floor. It was a miniature combat zone in here.

He pointed the muzzles of the Mapaw toward a pile of garbage, and struts from the ceiling, that half collapsed. He heard a noise come from a different direction. He lifted the weapons over his head and pointed them in that direction. He could hear quick footsteps echo around him. Syxx turned one weapon in that direction. He pointed the weapons around the room, trying to track the cause of the sound. He could feel something watching him.

He slowly lowered the dual guns to his side. "I know who you are. I can sense you. I can smell you."

A blue blur flashed by him, and took cover. He lifted both weapons and pointed them toward the flash. The blue figure snapped by him, hitting his body, and arms with tremendous force. The SMG's snapped out of his paws and slid across the floor. Syxx reached his paws over his back, and grabbed both M28 rifles, putting one in each paw, like they were nothing but Blasters.

He saw the figure flash again, but didn't hesitate to pull in the trigger. The weapons barked loudly, tracking the blue object. Sparks chipped away at the walls and obstacles, and the plasma rounds smashed into them, making the steel they connected with, glow with heat and energy. The object disappeared, and the mags of the two rifles dropped out, hitting the floor, and bouncing to the side.

With that he dropped the weapons to the floor, and slipped the knife out of the sheath. He held it in his right paw, just above his bladed forearm. Syxx took off the helmet, as tossed it across the room. It landed on the gym floor, rolled and bounced across the dirty wood floor. Blood dripped out of his mouth, across his golden tooth, and down into the fur on his muzzle. The HUD on his Vortec scrolled messages across his left eye.

_DANGER… FATAL VORTEC POWER ERROR  
SYSTEM CRASH  
Running diagnostic…  
Fisson-Fussion Core in need of attention  
Multiple component damage_

The black fox growled. His ears flickered, and he tasted the burnt air all around him. He breathed the air, putting his muzzle toward the ceiling. He rolled his paw across the blade of the knife. "I know you are here."

He still got no answer. He tossed the knife in the air, and caught it by the blade just as fast, and even as momentum still carried it upwards. The black blade shimmered across the scratched Vortec. He held the handle at his nose, and loosened his grip, ready to let the knife go at any moment. He saw a shimmer at the corner of his eye, and he let the blade go, spinning toward his prey. He watched the knife tumble in the air, but before the satisfying _stick_ sound could be heard, there was a metallic _ping_.

The knife bounced off a steal bar of some kind, and tumbled to the floor, sliding into a pile of debris. Krystal was standing right there, standing strong in her blue flight suit, black boots, and newly shortened hair. Individual locks had beads wrapped through the hair, and a crystal was around her neck. Krystal stood with the staff in front of her. Sparks stall shimmered off from where the knife had made contact.

Syxx stepped back into a defensive position. "What gave me away?" he smiled.

Krystal bared her teeth. "It's not you I can detect. I don't know how you can hind from me." She paused. "I sense the absence of you. It's when I can tell you are near." She stepped forward toward him. Her staff was drawn toward the ground, tamely.

This only caused Syxx to step back into a defensive pose, and show the blades that his forearms had grown from the virus.

Krystal paused. She shot at him a playful and knowing smile. "They say that Slayers don't fear anything."

"It's fear that keeps you alive Krystal. Without fear there is only more death. Not life."

Krystal cocked her head, in a smile. "The only way I can live, is if I destroy my fear." She jumped at him. He staff slashed, aiming for his shoulder. His bladed forearm went up, and blocked it off, sending yellow sparks showering to the floor. Syxx grunted as the hit glanced off the Vortec. The vixen caught his returning blow, catching his knuckle into her paw. Syxx threw an elbow forward with such force that when it struck Krystal's staff, her boots slipped backwards. The black blade on his arm chipped as the staff struck it.

"Why did you make it have to be this way? Why did you destroy the planet! The System!"

Syxx got back into position, rolling his knuckle. "_You can't say that you ever wanted what was best for us_."

Krystal growled at him. "I can't_, when you've taken what was left of our trust_?"

"_All the sh-t I have taken_," Syxx flashed the knife, "_this is why we have to FIGHT!_" He lunged at her.

Krystal glanced off his first attack with her right paw she spun the staff, and connected it with his torso. He stumbled backward, trying to catch his balance. Before he could respond to her push, she was already on his again, in a single bound. Syxx was ready for this though. He stepped back, planting himself firmly on the floor. He crossed both forarms in front of him, catching the staff between them. He wrapped his arm around the staff, and pulled Krystal toward him. With one powerful pull, he grabbed her by the neck with one paw, but a quick kick to the chest cured that. He yelped as he cracked ribs were further injured.

She spun the staff to get it away from him, and recover. She thought he was weaker, but he was still extremely dangerous. By that time, Syxx had recovered his knife, and was now once again armed. His arms reached to their full extent, and slashed, but Krystal curved her body around his long reach. She attacked from the side, but the vulpine caught the staff with the combat blade. Blue sparks showered to the floor beneath them

Krystal snorted as she backed away. The staff charged yellow, and sent a fireball hurtling toward Syxx. He jumped and rolled out of the way to avoid it, and rose to his feet, slashing once again at Krystal. His blow missed. The blue fox recoiled back the staff, and it now glowed at hot blue, and without warning it swung forward. The white hot crystal tip crashed into the vulpine's chest plate. The armour ripped open, sending sparks and fire across the slash. He grunted as it struck his wounded ribs once again. The second hit came down on Syxx's shoulder, and she felt something _crack_ horribly against her staff. The bash knocked Syxx to his knees. She heard his breath stop. The knife dropped out of his paw, and clanked to the floor beneath him. The staff _wooshed_ as she spun it in her paws, and stopped it at Syxx's neck, but he didn't move, he was nearly lifeless. The staff end glowed in power, sensing Krystal's anger, and transferring it into pure energy.

He stared at her boots only. "It feel's good, Krystal… I know it does." He paused to stare up at her, with bright green eyes. "_You fight, and you feel something better, something real, that you can't love_." He grinned evilly. "_But you can't steel it from me."_

"I can start."

She went in low, swinging the staff from behind her back, putting in the Cerinian power of a bone breaking upper cut. The golden-brown staff flexed, and crashed into Syxx's jaw. She could feel a vibrating crunch through the staff, and a streak of red blood slash through the air. The black fox lifted off the ground, as his head trashed backward from his neck, sending his body hurtling backward.

His mighty body fell to the gym floor. He landed on his back, and slid across the hardwood. Krystal landed on her knee, and she shot her head upward to see Syxx, lifeless at her feet when she stood up. The vixen's ears twitched as she heard a _ping_ noise, almost as if a coin were bouncing across the floor. This was no coin though. She watched as a golden fleck roll and bounce across the floor, almost coming to a stop at the limp fox's paw. A tooth. A single golden fang, half covered in blood. The half open jaw of the black fox revealed a hole where the fang should be. Blood pumped out if it, and drained out the side of his mouth, and onto the floor.

She stared at the golden tooth for a moment before she pocketed it, and called in the first ever recognized catch of a Slayer.


	15. Dying Son

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter XV  
Dying Son  
**_Syxxfox_

_Part of understanding,  
What it takes to get to where you want to be,  
Is understanding what you have to do,  
And understanding who you are,_

_It's never ordinary,  
The road to glory,_

_I can take,  
All that you can give,  
And I won't break,  
until you're overtaken,_

**All the Brightness ****– **_**"Overtaken"

* * *

**_

It was all too familiar; waking to a pounding headache, and blinding light right in the eyes. "Aghaa-aghh!" Syxx groaned and instinctively rolled over. When he turned, nothing caught him, and felt the short lived sensation of falling through the air. He fell onto his back, hard, which had knocked the wind out of him. He rolled on to his stomach, and held onto his cracked ribs, clenching his chest hard, trying to catch his breath. At that moment, he began to cough, stiffly. He caught himself with one paw, leaning over the floor. He immediately coughed up the blood in his throat, and spat it out, tainting the shiny silver floor. But gagging himself made his stomach turn upside down. He began to throw up on the floor, and not just a little. A lot. It felt like his stomach was on fire. After a few minutes of that, he fell onto his back, rolling away from the vomit. His teeth were numb from the bile that came up his throat. He continued to cough, as his throat tore apart from the rushing air he exhausted.

His tongue searched around in his mouth, for the golden tooth that was no longer in its place. Syxx could feel his sore lip, as it swelled in a deep red hue. He could barely breathe. It was like he was choking on his own tongue. He couldn't stop dry-heaving, now lying on his back. The fox couldn't even remember what had happened, but his harnessed mind only thought of getting out, and destroying whoever was in his path.

Syxx looked directly backward, up and over his forehead. He saw a brown German Shepard standing above him, behind a wall of thick glass. The hound wore heavy sunglasses, and a green military tunic, and pants. A large black radio was clipped to his belt. He lifted it and held it to his muzzle. "Our guest is awake."

"Good." An unfamiliar female voice came over the radio. "Clean him up. Bring him to the interrogation compound. General Hare will meet you there in a few minutes. Understood Captain?"

"Yes ma'am." He then looked at the vulpine through the glass, slowly lowering the radio from his paw, down to his belt. The large brown dog tipped his sunglasses, and raised an eyebrow. "Rise and shine big guy. Your number's up."

The glass doors slid open, and two more large men appeared. This is when Syxx got to his feet and stepped toward the back of the room. His knees almost gave out from under him as he stood. He could feel his knees shake, ready to collapse from under him. He found the energy to put up his arms in defence. The two men that appeared were in ghost white suits, covered head to tail. Small yellow biohazard symbols were stuck onto the chest protectors of the suits. They slowly tried to circle around him, on either side, while the captain came up the center toward the Slayer.

Syxx put his paws up in front of him. "Whoa! Wait a minute!"

The hound in the thick sunglasses spoke. "I wouldn't fight this I were you."

Syxx bared his teeth, trying to put on a tough face. He could feel in his bones how weak he was though… still he wasn't going without a fight, but he never got a chance to. A thunderbolt from a small stick struck him in the chest. He felt his eyes turn back into his head, and instead of a jolting electric shock, he could feel electricity slowly crawling throughout his body. He could feel the waves arcing through his fur, and burning his hide. His knees gave way slowly, and he fell into the arms of the two hazmat soldiers. His mind spun, and his body went limp. His bare black paws were drug across the floor; his toes became raw after a short time, but he hadn't the strength to move them. All he could see were the silver tiles that passed beneath him, while he was drug. He hadn't the energy to move, and he struggled to breathe. He figured they probably sedated him with something as well as the shock, but he could never be certain.

It wasn't long before he was dropped, in a small cell once again. Syxx was left face up on the floor and he could see a shower tap and another man in a white suit pointing a single high powered water cannon at him. The two men who had just dropped him picked him up, from off the tile. One held him up, while the other took a small, but sharp knife to his chest, and ripped off his dirty white muscle shirt. Next they cut off his pants and continued down, until he was wearing nothing at all. At that point, the water cannon was unleashed on him. It felt like it could peel the fur right of his skin. The other two men who had stripped him brushed his entire body with abrasive sponges. He felt humiliated, and made a mental note to get payback when he had the energy and the chance, but now was not the time. His mind was already formulating ideas, but his body was in no shape to conduct them.

After a short while, the water stopped, and a towel was tossed over his shoulders. He still couldn't stand alone, and he was still drug with his toes scraping across the floor, against his own will. He was dressed with undergarments, green army pants, and yet another white muscle shirt, this one was new and clean though. He was placed in a small white room with another glass door, similar to the one that he had just been in. This one had a table in the middle of the room, and plasma cuffs on the wall, which he soon found himself bonded into. Forced to stand, he still didn't have the energy, and was held limp against the wall by the plasma cuff around his wrists. The two men in the hazmat suits left, leaving him with the brown German Sheppard with the sunglasses.

He tipped the shades down, and gave the fox a good look over. "Of course you know that we can't risk infection. We're already small in numbers. An outbreak here could wipe us out."

Syxx coughed. "Get the f-ck out of my sight." He only had the energy to hang limp, head tilted toward the floor, with his eyes closed, and his head pounding bloody drums.

The large hound stepped up to him, and loomed down upon the weakened Slayer. "I hardly think that you are in the position to be calling the shots. This is only the beginning for you." He paused, looking over this so called 'mighty' warrior. "And if I had things my way, I'd skin you right here and now."

Syxx quickly threw his head up, and spit in the dog's face. "F-gg-t." he huffed under his breath.

He raised a paw, rolling it into a fist. "You little f-ck-ng-"

"That'll be quite enough Captain." A short man with tall grey-white ears staggered into the room, interrupting the captain's actions, before they could be performed. He wore a grey jumpsuit, and held onto many books and papers, tucking them under his left arm. He put them down at the desk in front him, and took a seat in the chair, next to the soldier that threatened to extinguish Syxx on the spot. "Dismissed Captain." Peppy Hare said.

The dog remained silent for a moment, not moving and not wanting to leave the room, leaving this monster with the most important leader they had left. All accept for the Prime Minister of course. The hound soon obliged, wiping the saliva off his sunglasses. "Yes Sir. I'll be right outside."

Syxx hung limp, with his eyes shut. "Until next time Captain."

"You'd better watch your-"

"Thank you Captain!" Peppy cut the man short. "That will be enough. I don't think our friend is going anywhere. Not any time soon anyways." The old man laughed in a scratchy chuckle, seaming almost friendly.

The hound left, and slid the door shut. He stood with his back to the clear glass wall, and looked over his shoulder, glaring at the black fox.

"I see you make friends fast." The old hare turned his gaze down toward the papers in his paws.

Syxx still hung on the wall, lifeless. He didn't say a word.

"Not the talkative type hmm? We'll see about that." He adjusted some papers. "Now it seems that you and I have a problem. To my understanding, Mister Syxx, you know a thing or two about the state of my planet. Now… can you explain to me anything about the Slayers?"

Syxx remained quiet.

Peppy Hare cleared his throat, and unfolded the bunch of files under his arm. "We know all about you Mister Syxx. You might as well come clean about everything, so we can have a chance to redeem the system while we still can. And you can redeem yourself, in the process." Peppy held up a paper in his paw. "Do you recognize the man in this photo?"

Syxx was tempted to look up, he moved his green eyes first, and his head soon followed. He looked at the photo. It was a file photo of a black furred man, with a shimmering golden fang. Another part on the file photo showed a picture of a white tattoo over a black shoulder. This was no doubt a picture taken of himself, back when Project Slayer had first began. When his eyes caught the black blade star, he couldn't help but take a quick glance at his own tattoo that was still embedded into his fur, and his hide. It still looked at pristine as the day that he had gotten it. Still he said nothing. To say anything may put him out in a compromising position, and he was already in some really hot water as things were. His weary head turned back to the floor below. His raw and ragged paws loosened, and he once again went still; resting and waiting.

Silence consumed the room. As Peppy waited for an answer he wasn't going to get, he flipped through the other three profiles of the first AWOL Slayers; the ones that started the whole mess. The ever ageing man stroked his short beard, and adjusted his glasses. "Would you like to say anything for yourself?" He quickly became impatient with Syxx.

Syxx didn't move. He felt as he should say something, but he remained silent.

"If you choose to speak, I guarantee a fair trial for yourself, and any of your accomplices."

The vulpine remained still, thinking.

"Fine." The old man got up from his seat, taking the papers with him. "We'll try this again later. But next time, I won't be so patient with you."

"You and I both know what a fair trial is for me." He answered darkly.

When Peppy turned back around, the black fox was staring at him. He could feel his eyes burning a hole in him.

"Excuse me?" Peppy hesitated to ask.

Syxx glared him down. "A fair trial for me ends in death. You and I both know it. I'm not going to help you, so you might as well kill me now, instead of wasting your resources and time… and I'd suggest you act fast." The vulpine smiled evilly. "The virus is upon you, and no one is coming to save you or this planet!"

The hare looked at him in disgust. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when there were three hard knocks on the glass wall outside the room. Peppy glared at the man for a moment, and left the room, without another word to him. He wasn't even able to look at his eyes. He could feel bad energy, and he wanted nothing more than to put some distance between himself and the Slayer.

Krystal was on the outside. "I need to speak to him."

Peppy rolled his sweaty palms around within his paw. "I can't let you do that Krystal."

"Maybe I can get him to talk, Peppy. I'm a telepath. Just give me a chance. But I need to do it alone. I need concentration."

Peppy hesitated for a moment, only to give in to Krystal's request. "I can give you a few minutes. Maybe you'll have better luck than I did." He gave her a shallow smile, and with that, he walked away from the cell, exhausted from age and the responsibilities of maintaining a broken planet.

Krystal felt so horrible for the old man. Of all people, he was the one who didn't have the heart to be put through such a tragedy, and to manage it, was even more heartbreaking for him. She feared that if he found out who this man really was, or who had been, he would break altogether. That's what she told herself anyways, but seeing him apart like this was almost more than she could take already. They needed his leadership, and to preserve that, she had to protect him from Syxx.

Syxx watched Krystal enter this time. He rolled his eyes. "Oh for f-ck sakes." He pointed his muzzle downward, and shook his head; slowly he lifted it and smiled at her. "You just don't know when to give it up do you?"

"Sound's a lot like someone else I know." She lifted the chair, and sat down in front of him, leaning back, and crossing her legs, one over the other.

Syxx opened his mouth and rolled his tongue around the open spot where he was missing a golden fang. He looked strange, missing the important fang that completed the top row of razor sharp teeth. "Hey! I'm missing a piece." His lip was swollen and red from the dislocation of the tooth.

Krystal reached into her pocket, and revealed the trophy to Syxx. She rolled it around in her claw tips. It clinked against her nails. "I think I'll hang onto this for now."

"Yeah…" he huffed. "Go ahead and take another piece of me."

She tossed up the tooth and caught it. Krystal put it back in her pocket, hiding it from its true owner. "You are responsible for the destruction of Corneria." She then got up and stared at him. "You have no were left to run Fox. It's over now."

"It may be over for me, but for millions of others, it's still just beginning. This planet's life force decreases more and more every day. I can feel it, and know you can too." He grinned. "It must be eating you alive. Oh, and I'm quite impressed with you being able to survive based on where I left you when the photon bomb went off. Do you remember that day Krystal?" He mocked her. "If you would have stopped me, you could have stopped it all. I can feel that you are guilty. It's subtle energy… but I can feel it all around you."

The vixen held her temper, and paused to pace around the room, and circle in front of him. Her black boots tapped against the tiled floor, and resonance echoed into the corners of the small white room. She licked the inside of her mouth, and up to her lip, caught in deep thought, and mystery of how this deserter's mind newly functioned. The mental tasks she had put herself through had made her stronger, and yet were still not enough to break through the barriers of this harnessed conscience.

"How do you block off your mind? I know you never used to be able to do this. Where do you learn?"

"The mind is a powerful thing Krystal. You of all people should know that. It is capable of amazing things. Never underestimate it."

"How do you do it?" She asked again, stepping even closer toward him, she attempted to intimidate him, but couldn't be sure if it was working or not.

"It's taken me years to perfect. Nothing gets in, because nothing gets out. I can feel your thought pattern all around me. It's power. It's infection."

"So you've developed your own sixth sense?" Krystal took her seat once again. She was interested, but already slightly jealous. This was something she was good at, and her gift, and the fact that this deserter could not be broken by her, tweaked her temper.

"I wouldn't exactly call it that." Syxx answered. "I may not have the offence that you have, but my defensive spirit can repel your thoughts waves enough to keep mine safe."

It was silent for a moment. They both stared at each other, as if to see who would give out first, breaking the electricity between them.

Syxx was the one who finally broke the silence. "Peppy. Why haven't you told him?"

Krystal just continued to stare at him. She didn't have an answer that she wanted to give him. She watched Syxx close his eyes, and before long, the black fox spoke once again, with his eyes still shut. "You still feel the need protect me. Even after all I've done." He opened his eyes, and grinned at her. "How noble." He said with a taunting inflection through his voice, mocking her once again.

Krystal exploded, sending the chair flying backward into the wall. She grabbed the fox by the neck. "I will do nothing to protect you!" Tears formulated in her eyes. "I'd do nothing to spare you. I'm protecting Peppy from you." She tightened the grip on his throat, feeling her claws dig deeply into his hide, and crushing his jugular. He choked for a moment, trying to breathe. Krystal continued to squeeze, until she heard no breath leave or enter his body. At that moment, she loosened, just enough so he could breathe, and enough for the pain to flow through his body.

Syxx spoke in a scratchy voice, choking in between phrases. "_I can take, all that you can give._" He growled with his last breath. "_And I won't break, until you're over taken_."

"Peppy was like a father to you, and you betrayed him! You betrayed all of us!" She let his neck go, and slammed his head back into the wall. His head smashed against the steel of the slate, and he could feel his teeth rattle in his mouth, while his head spun, threatening to pull him from consciousness.

Even though Krystal yelled at him, Syxx spoke calmly, not caring. "The system is in my debt."

"So you opt to destroy it!"

Syxx snapped. He snarled back at her. "Are you kidding!" That was a line well crossed in Syxx's head. "I was the only one who kept this planet safe! If it weren't for me, Corneria would look the same way it does today, ten years ago!"

"Your father was this planet's defender! You always spoke of him, and admired him, and pledged to follow and his footsteps!"

"I did follow in his footsteps! Think about it! James is a ghost! If he is alive, why the f-ck doesn't he come back! Yeah! I'd be ashamed if I were him too, and open up your eyes." Syxx smiled at her, with a tweak of evil caught at the side of his mouth. "Think about it, I look a lot like him don't I?"

Krystal didn't have an answer for him. A tear ran down her face. She was shocked. She never would have imagined him speaking this way about James, and it broke her heart. She could feel herself short of breath.

"If my father is still alive, he hasn't come back… he hasn't come back… because he doesn't love me. Not anymore." Syxx calmed down. "If he really did pass on, in one of the great wars, then let him rest, do not taunt me of his prestige. I have fulfilled my duty, and there is only one thing left in my life to complete my responsibility. To die."

Krystal stared at him in horror. She tried not to cry, as she spoke with a shuddering breath. "I fear that your soul is slipping away Fox…"

The black vulpine growled in his throat deeply. He jumped at her. The plasma cuffs hissed and the short chains rattled, as Syxx let out a fearsome roar that caused Krystal to jump backwards. Syxx rested back against the wall. "My soul will be lost to the darkness along with the rest of this planet!"

"I'm beginning to think you'll never understand."

"I understand- _what's left is left behind_."

Krystal's bottom jaw quivered. She couldn't stand to look at him anymore, not like this. "_Part of understanding what you want to be Fox… is understanding who you are._ I fear soon you will be lost to the night."

In his steel and plasma shackles the black vulpine thrashed. He paws tightened into tight fists, and the chains struggled to keep his might withheld. He roared a deep thunder before he bared his circuitous row of teeth. "I am the night!"

* * *

X

* * *

"What can you tell me about the armour as of right now Lieutenant?" Peppy asked a short orange female feline.

They stood in a small lab in one of the bottom corners of the fallout shelter. It was quite easy to forget about the outside world when they had everything that they needed inside this complex, and resided in a safe place. The truth was though, that Peppy could still picture the toxic red skies of the planet's atmosphere as it loomed down among the city, threatening to swallow it whole, as Corneria devoured itself in a cloud of toxic black. The last few weeks he had gotten almost no sleep, and was wracked with guilt, as he alone bared the weight of his lack of knowledge toward project Slayer as it took place right underneath his nose and before the Slayers turned rogue.

He was disgusted by himself, not regarding the project in development phases, and letting this happen. When he put it into deep thought, he realized how foolish the CO's of Slayer had been. It was barbaric really; taking prisoners from the compounds of the city, and pitting them against each other, the rest of the world, are more importantly, themselves. What did they expect to happen? Surely, there was very little chance to form a loyal and honourable force, and a man's history never changes. They couldn't have possibly expected them to follow orders. It was a storm brewing, and when the Slayers had all they needed, there was nothing to stop them; no countermeasures taken to contain this momentous super-cell.

Inside a large, round glass cylinder there were two men in pure white suites. In between them there was a scratched and broken silver and black armour suit that lay over a stainless steel table. The armour was in multiple pieces, spread out over the table, to be further examined. There was a heavy helmet, with a cracked silver screened visor. Pieces of the shade were chipped away exposing blackness behind the glass. The chest plate was split open, and the shoulder plates were plied apart, by some unruly force. The Vortec did more than its job entailed. The rest of the armour was relatively intact except for marks, and scrapes from grenades, and falls, and plasma scoring. The armour was overall still trashed though. Even the white star and Syxx's name were barely legible, let alone visible as the paint faded and chipped away exposing unfinished silver metals. The scores of countless battles riddled the suit; the only meddles that told the story of a Slayer.

"Well." The short cat-lady said. "It is infected with the Aparoid virus…" she trailed off. "We know that for sure."

"Is there anything else?" The old hare asked.

"The virus in the armour seems like it's controlled, or supressed within the suit. We ran tests on the rogue Slayer. We couldn't find traces in his body, but the Vortec is clearly infected." She brought out some photo's that had just been taken of the amour, so Peppy could have a safe look at it, without having to step foot in the bio-chamber. "Look here." She lifted another photo of the Vortec next to the first. "This one was right off the assembly line, and all shiny and new. See here, on the forearms of the armour. Each one grew its own sharp edge. Each one has a bayonet of an edge. We can't yet tell what they are formed of, but it is some metallic substance,and is currently an unidentified metal compound."

"Grew?" Peppy asked. "These augments grew from the armour."

"That's right. We found the same thing on the helmet, and there other augmentations, on the back of the gloves, and shoulder flare."

"Are these customizations made after their assembly?"

"Well yes, but they aren't synthetic. They seem to be… hmm… biochemical? Uhhh, what's the best word for this… almost organic growths I guess? Metallic organic growths… if that makes any sense? The Vortec grew this itself after fusing with the virus. We know this because they can't be taken off. This is a physical part of the amour. Somehow it fused with the nano bots… it's weird. In all Aparoidian infection, we have never seen anything like this before."

Peppy adjusted his glasses and flicked his whiskers. "Anything else?"

"The amour was hit with six Tesla bolts, one was enough to stun it, but the last five fried the optics, and the amour malfunctioned. All the gouges on the armour are from the grenade shrapnel, they're pretty fresh. The slash across the chest plate and the crack on the shoulder pad is from that staff. Krystal, won't let us examine it though. However, we diagnosed the Slayer with three hair-line cracked ribs, and a fractured collarbone. Also, a sprained wrist, plasma frag wounds, mild radiation sickness, and a concussion- as well as multiple plasma scoring burns on the chest, leg, and shoulder."

"And he was still fighting!"

"Slayer's were trained to 'walk off' a broken foot. Honestly, he probably didn't even feel most of it. Oh, and that's not all." The feline put down the photos of the Vortec, and from another folder she opened up x-rays and MRI scan files. She held up the x-ray of the man's shoulders, and head into the light. She pointed at the crack in the collarbone. "Here you can see the hairline fracture in the collarbone, and slight swelling of the brain from the mild concussion that he received prior to being admitted. Sir, we tested his entire body, and it shows no signs of the virus. However, when we tested his neurological activity, it was off the chart. I've never seen anything like it. Thought waves are through the ceiling, and literally, we don't have the capacity to measure them! We suspect he is infected, but as of now, we can find no physical evidence. Nothing in the circulatory system, respiratory system, the only thing we can't wrap our heads around is neurological activity."

The old man closed his open jaw. He coughed into his paw. Peppy remained silent for a moment, before he took a deep breath, and left the room. "Keep me posted Lieutenant."

"Sir."`


	16. Core

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter XVI  
Core  
**_Syxxfox

* * *

_

_"Try to just let it go,_  
_Know that justice moves slow,_  
_But it comes in the end,_

_Rise the guilty will fall,_  
_Stay they can't take it all,_  
_They want the unimportant,_  
_It's love they leave behind!_

_Stand up,_  
_Aim True,_  
_Keep heart,_  
_The future looks to you,_

_Every second you throw away,_  
_Every minute of every day,_  
_Don't get caught in a memory,_  
_Cause life won't wait for you,_  
_No, life won't wait for you my friend."_

**Ozzy Osbourne**_**"Life won't Wait"

* * *

**_

What shocked Krystal the most wasn't what Fox said about her. It wasn't what he had said about Peppy… it was what he said about his father. He had always spoken high of him, and now, he felt like he had been betrayed by him. Deep down she knew the problem. She knew that he felt unloved, and was a path toward self-destruction. What was it that he wanted? Did he want revenge for all the wrongs that world had done him? Or, was it the aspect of self-hatred that fuelled his intent?

It was night now, and many of the casual refugees had turned in for the night, leaving the night shift to stand watch for the rest of them. Peppy had talked about running drills in the night some times, but there was no point. They had nowhere left to hide, and no deeper to go. There would be nothing a drill could prep them for if a strong opposing force reaped them. Krystal's thoughts no longer lay with the fox that had been captured earlier in the week. It now lay with the fate of the planet and the system. Of course she still had thoughts of about the Slayer, and it had come to her attention, that the only way they were going to save the system, was if that she would be able to get Fox back. He was the one who started this war, and would be the only one who would know how to stop it… or the only one with the capability.

She was awake in her bed, staring at the dark ceiling. The vixen slowly raised herself from the bed, and swung her feet around, to the floor. She rested her head into her paws. The stirring must have caused Katt the wake.

The pink cat turned and looked at her through the darkness. "Krys? You ok? What's wrong?" She could just barely make out the vixen's shadow in the darkness of the cell-like room.

The little blue vixen bit her lip. "He started this war… he's the only one who knows how to stop it." The vixen jumped to her feet and she started to get dressed.

Katt sat up in her bed. "Krystal, you've really been started to freak me out lately."

The vixen pulled her boots on and went out the door. She marched toward the interrogation cells at the very bottom of the base, in one of the four corners. She passed many staff soldiers, and scientists, but none heeded her voyage. When she finally came to the base of the fallout shelter, there were two armed guards who stood on the outside of the chamber, where the cells were located. The door was locked tight and they defended the entrance.

Krystal stepped up to them. "I need to speak to him."

One of the soldiers at the door, a female fox, just like herself stopped her. "Sorry Ma'am, you'll need special clearance for that from the General. We can't let you in."

"Could you please just, break the rules this once?"

"I'm sorry miss." The other vixen told her. "Come back with General Hare, and we can let you through."

With one swift movement, Krystal withdrew her Blaster. She pointed it at the small females head, pulling her back toward her chest with the other paw. She took the other vixen hostage behind the might of the handgun.

The other guard aimed the rifle at Krystal's head. "Drop the weapon." He said calmly, but firmly.

Krystal hid behind the fox. "I wasn't asking you. Open the door." She showed no emotion. "No one gets hurt. That's all I want."

After a moment, the man showed no willingness to comply. At that moment, Krystal turned the gun on him, and pulled the trigger. She didn't shoot him though. She shot the large and bulky black radio off his belt. The Blaster flashed bright green, and clapped loudly, echoing through the halls. The man screamed as his side was burnt by the plasma fallout. Krystal then put the Blaster back to the neck of the red vixen that she withheld. The red fox whimpered as the boiling tip of the muzzle was placed into her fur. Krystal could smell hair burn under her nose.

The hound bit his lip, and gave in. He put his rifle down on the floor. He slit a key-card through a slot in the door. She heard the door shift. At that moment, he turned a large wheel in the center of the door, and the blast door swung open. The blue vixen kept the other fox close into her body. Krystal pivoted, and stepped backward through the door, with the weapon still to the red fox's neck. When Krystal was inside, she ordered the girl to take the SMG off from around her neck. Krystal grabbed the strap, and slung the gun over her shoulder.

With one swift push, and a slight of hand, the blue fox pushed the vixen out the door, while grabbing the radio from off her belt. The vixen pushed the door shut, and spun the wheel in the center, turning it tight. Krystal smashed the electronic key slot with the butt of the blaster. It sparked bright blue, and smoldered. At that point, she stopped, and looked where she was. It was a short hallway with four cells. Each cell was painted with clean white paint, and separated from the hallway with inch thick glass walls.

Krystal slowly stepped down the hall way. It was silent, and dimly lit. She knew he was in the room at the end of the hallway, but she took note to look inside every cell as she walked by it. Her boot steps echoed loudly in through the hallway, and she finally made it to Syxx's cell. She looked at him through the glass. He hung lifelessly on the wall. His wrists were twisted around the chains of the plasma cuffs. The dim cuffs lit up his silhouette in the darkness, and she could see his chest move in and out as he breathed. She was sure he was sleeping though. She could feel it. It was the only way that she could detect the silent presence of his mind.

The vixen stared down at the steel lock that was emulsed into the glass door of the cell. She quietly slid the steel bolt up and back. She stepped away as the glass door slowly slide open as the hydraulic piston pushed it open, silently. When she got inside, she took the chair, and wedged it into the frame of the door, locking it shut from the inside. At that moment, she turned to look at the dimly lit man. Even as he hung on the wall, limp, he still looked mighty, with a broad chest, and strong arms, as well as the scratches and burns all over his body.

There was one table in the room with the two chairs. She rolled under the table, and placed the black SMG on a small ledge. She was afraid to be caught with it after she had fired her Blaster inside. Maybe they wouldn't find it. At least that way, she wouldn't be caught red-handed. Maybe Peppy would even understand, but she didn't know. Maybe if she could find out how to save the system, it would all wash over.

Krystal slowly lifted her blue paw to Syxx's white muzzle. She slowly stroked his fur back on his cheek, and smiled when a slight beam and whine emitted from his throat. She whispered. "You're still in there Fox. I know it." She paused, and lifted her paw from his cheek. "But you're the only one who knows how to stop this war… and whether you like it or not." She paused, and closed her eyes, locking in on Syxx's thoughts. "You're helping."

He was weak now. Now would be her only chance. While he was asleep his thoughts ran free, and his mind wandered. If she learned to conquer it, it could be her playground. His conscious frequencies were too powerful, but his unconscious mind wouldn't be able to hold her back. After a short amount of time, she could feel herself slipping away. While his conscious mind was a fortress, all his secrets would be released as he slept. Now was time she would learn to knowledge to save the Lylat system.

* * *

X

* * *

It was dark. It was silent. It was frightening. Krystal slowly made her way to her feet, and felt through her surroundings. She could feel trees and vines that brushed against her face. She was in a deep and dark jungle of some kind. The small vixen tripped through trees, and the bushes. She could hear something lurking around behind her, following her. She wasted no time in getting moving. The only thing that kept her sane, were the thoughts that this wasn't real.

A vine grabbed Krystal's foot, and she went tumbling to the ground. Her body landed in a puddle of water. She quickly got up, and wrung her tail dry of water. The fox then looked into the forest, and for the first time, she could see something. It was a flickering in the distance through the trees of the forest. Her breath stopped, and she slowly crept toward the light. She got closer, but could still sense something watching her, and her heart started to beat faster, even though she knew that she was in no real physical danger. It didn't matter though, pain was still pain here. If she "died" in this "dream" she would just wake up and have to start again.

When the vixen got even closer, she could see the bright yellow flame past the tree line. It was on a beach, and she could hear the tide. When Krystal approached the tree line, she stopped, and stared toward the campsite. The fire flickered mesmerizingly, and on the beach she could see the silhouette of a figure, lying in the sand, near the fire. She couldn't make out who it was though; the figure was shrouded in black, with only the flicker of the fire, illuminating the silver red edges of its fur.

Krystal took a deep breath, observing the figure even more, waiting for it to move to reveal its face. After a long while of waiting, she realized that either he was sleeping, or not going to move. It looked like he was just staring at the fire. Krystal took a step out from behind the tree, and the conveniently enough, right under her boot, a twig snapped. This wasn't what frightened her though. The frightening part was how fast the figure around the fire jumped to life. Her heart beet like a drum against her ribcage as the figure leaped out of the sand. She heard the sound of a weapon's receiver slide back. She could see the barrel of the weapon point at her, and the front sights sparkle from the fire.

"Hault!" The man's voice yelled.

Krystal stood in the rifle's sights, frozen.

The gun was slowly lowered though, and the man spoke after a short pause. "Krystal?"

She recognized the sweet familiar voice of the character. "Fox?" Her stomach filled with butterflies, and she took a step forward. "Fox! Is that YOU!" She couldn't help herself. She leapt forward, wrapping her arms around Fox's neck, and pushed her muzzle into his warm chest.

Fox still held the rifle at his hip pointing into the darkness, he scanned the muzzle through the woods, while his other arm wrapped around Krystal's waist. "You should not have ventured here Krystal." He let the muzzle of the gun down. "Come into the light. He can't touch us there."

Tears ran down Krystal face and into Fox's silver vest. She slowly nodded, and pulled back. She looked into his eyes, and pulled him in tightly, into a kiss, before they both settled near the fire.

Fox stoked the fire with more dry wood. He settled down in the sand at Krystal's side. "You shouldn't have come here Krystal. It's dangerous here." The red vulpine looked into the trees. "He's knows you're here Krystal. He won't be happy with you."

"I don't know how much time I have here Fox. I need some questions answered."

Fox nodded. "I'll tell you all I can. I'm just worried we're too late already." He swallowed hard. "But it's all we have now. We've got nothing left to lose."

Krystal moved closer to her love. "I first need to know how this war started."

Fox nodded slowly. "Syxx didn't start the war. A few weeks after the pre-emptive strike that Corneria launched against the Slayers, blind with rage, Syxx formulated a battle plan to take over the Lylat System. He couldn't do it alone though. Not even with all the Slayers. Not a chance. But after he got his hands on the virus, everything came together, and the Slayers became commanders, but many still felt the need to fight, as did Syxx. When Corneria launched the siege on Sauria, they brought with them all the resources that Syxx needed for the virus to spread throughout Lylat." He shook his head. "There was no one around the stop them."

"There was another fox… Kyla?"

"When the siege took place, Kyla escorted Syxx to the warships, but was shot down by a member of Falco's team. Syxx wasn't even fazed. It just led him to higher extremes. He doesn't care if he gets in the way of a bullet. He has the will to live, but no respect for his own life."

"Then how do I stop him Fox? How do I stop this war?"

Fox put his paw on the rifle, and put it over his lap, putting a paw over Krystal's leg. "Only Syxx can put a stop to this war, Krystal."

Krystal looked into his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Not only does Syxx know how to stop this war, he is the key. He is the only one who can stop it. If he refuses to help, then the entire system will be lost to darkness. And if the he is executed before the Aparoids are destroyed, then the entire system will be lost."

"I'm not going to let that happen." Krystal bit a lip. "But… how do I redeem him."

"He can't do it alone. There is only one way to spare his soul." Fox stopped. He stared into the fire. Krystal could see the flames in his eyes. Fox continued after a moment. "Only the pure of heart can possess a Krazoa Spirt. If this body can retain a Spirit, it will cleanse him of his darkness. If some of Fox still remains, his body will retain it."

Krystal's jaw dropped open. "But… if a spirit is taken from Sauria, the planet will fall apart again."

Fox continued to stare down at the fire. "The Spell Stones direct the flow of magical energy throughout the planet through its force points. The Krazoa's themselves work as freelancers to the planet, pulling it together, and restoring balance. They don't keep balance, the Spell Stones maintain it." Fox looked into the sky. "We are running out of time. To redeem Syxx, you must possess his body with one of the six Krazoa Spirits."

"But Fox… I don't want to leave you."

The vulpine smiled sweetly. "You've done so well Krystal. I'm so proud of you."

"Fox…" She struggled not to cry, looking the man in the eyes.

"_Try to just let it go, know that justice moves slow, but it all comes in the end_." Fox stood up, and pulled Krystal in his arms. "_Rise, the guilty will fall. They can't take it all. The Slayer's want the unimportant, but its love he leaves behind!_"

Fox pulled away from the hug. "_Stand up."_ He pushed the rifle into Krystal arms, and against her chest. While it was in her arms, he pulled back the action. "_Aim true. Keep heart. The future looks to you."_

With that, the world around her started to dissolve. Her vision became grainy, like a television set that was losing its signal from the source. The exact same thing was happening to her though. Her signal with Fox was being interrupted, which only meant one thing. Syxx was waking up. She tried to pull herself from the dream. She knew what would happen if she remained in this world with Syxx at the helm. He could trap her in a world of hell. If she didn't get out now, it would be too late.


	17. New Hope

_Welcome to Winter_  
-SX

Visit SyxxFox FF Account for a link to an excerpt from chapter 24

* * *

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter XVII  
New Hope  
**_Syxxfox_

* * *

"_You've got that touch so gentle and sweet,  
But you've got that look so critical,  
Can't talk to you babe you know I get so weak,  
Sometimes I think that love is just mythical,_

Up there's a heaven, down there's a town,  
Blackness everywhere any little lights shine,  
Blackness, blackness draggin' me down,  
Come on light a candle in this heart of mine,"

**Nazareth**** – "**_**This Flight Tonight"**_

* * *

Krystal's eyes fluttered open, just in time to see Syxx's do the same thing. One of his eyes opened before the other, and he turned to glare at the vixen. "Stay out of my head."

"I don't need to be in your head anymore."

Krystal grinned at the restrained man, who hung above her in handcuffs, clamped to a cold silver wall. He was beaten and busied, but his black fur still remained clean, with a silvery shine at the end of the fur tips. He had a dirty, and blood stained, white tank top on, and green army cargo pants. No shoes. His bare feet stood on the cold, metal floor. His white head fur blazed back toward the rear of his neck, and as he glared, it was apparent that he was missing a fang in his front jaw. Syxx's white tipped tail wagged impatiently back and forth.

"He told me how to destroy you, _Syxx_."

Krystal put a paw on her waist, and swung her hips to the side, showing off her curvaceous figure. She smiled at him as if she had already been victorious. Her black and blue flight suit hugged her body tightly, and an ancient gemmed tiara sat over her forehead. The vixen's blue fur looked soft and warm, and under the suit there were tattoos on her arms, and legs, though not visible at this time. Her black boots tapped across the steel floor, as she paced back and forth. The small cell was silver on all sides except for a glass wall that quarantined it from the hall way. It only had small table, and two wooden chairs. She rubbed her tail across the bottom of the black fox's nose, making him even angrier. She taunted him.

Syxx jumped at her, and his jaws, clamped for the tail, narrowly missing its white tip. His wrists slammed his back to the wall. He snarled deeply, showing his pearly white teeth, with the missing fang. His nose was wrinkled and his ears flat against his skull. The chains struggled to keep the Slayer restrained within the plasma cuffs. The vulpine screamed at the top of his lungs. It was monstrous, and un-Lylatian, like he was one of the infected. "You will be killed if you leave this shelter! There's too many hunters, radiation, Aparoids... Slayers. You will not survive!" Syxx shut his eyes. "_You've got that touch so gentle, and sweet. But you've got that look so critical_."

She turned to him, a confused look over her face.

"_Sometimes, I feel that life is just mythical. The blackness… dragging me down. And I won't go down alone."_

"If I don't try, then it's too late."

Syxx showed his teeth. "They'll be hunting you." His eyebrow flicked up.

"Then we'll have something in common. I can sense your friend outside. If I can defeat you, then I can kill any Slayer."

The black fox sighed. "Not all of them."

Krystal turned back to him. "Who than?"

"It doesn't matter." He shook his head. "She's dead now." The black fox turned away from the vixen, hiding his face toward his armpit. "But don't let your guard down. Not even for even a second."

The radio on Krystal's belt crackled. She couldn't hear any voices on it yet though. She lifted it up, and held it closer to her ear, but it once again went silent. She also kept silent for a moment, but after a moment she depressed the button, and spoke.

Krystal's voice was shaking. "Can anyone hear me?"

She couldn't tell whose voice was on the frequency. "We can hear you. Is everything ok in there?"

"Yes everything is fine."

"Is the Slayer detained still?"

Krystal turned to Syxx. "He's still chained."

"We're going to be opening the door. Stay calm."

"Copy that." Krystal put the radio back to her belt. Syxx was smiling at her. "What are you smiling about?" She asked in a growl.

His smiled turned to a fierce, challenging glare. "Good Luck." He closed his eyes.

She glanced back over her shoulder once, at the bonded Slayer before taking the chair out of the way of the glass door. She opened it, and sealed it shut tightly behind her, taking the attention for her tail not to get caught as the hydraulics pulled the door closed behind her. Once the door was shut, she took a moment to look over the Slayer for the final time. She put her paw on the glass as if to rub his cheek through the window. Krystal stood at the blast door, while still in the interrogation hall. She held the black radio to her muzzle.

"I'm ready." Krystal held down the switch, and paused. "How much longer?"

"Just a few more moments Krystal. Hold on."

"They're going to detain you for this." Krystal listened to Syxx's voice echo down the hall way. "I know what you did to get in here. And they'll never believe you."

"They won't believe you either!"

Syxx laughed. "They have no choice."

"Not when I know how to fix all this." She snapped back.

The radio crackled in her paw. "We can't over-ride the door Krystal; we have to plant a charge on the door. Stand clear of the door. You have ten seconds."

"Copy that." Krystal backed to end of the hall, where she could see Syxx through the glass wall again.

Syxx met her eyes. "You know they're lying right? They can open the door. The only time they use charges, is when they are breaching."

"Peppy will understand. He wouldn't let them do that. Not to me."

"Who are you trying to convince? Me?" He paused. "Or you?"

Krystal just snarled back at him.

"Don't expect a warm reception." Syxx smiled at her. He closed his eyes and put his muzzle into the air, and grinned. "Breaching, breaching." Syxx synced his lips with that of the voice of the infiltration team from behind the door over the radio, causing Krystal's eyes to light up. At the instant she heard the blast, Krystal ducked her head behind her arms. The hall billowed with thick grey smoke, and shrapnel filled the air around her. The voices of soldiers echoed the hallway. Lazar tracers cut though the smoke.

"Target acquired!"

"Down! Down! Down on the ground!"

The world around Krystal raged, like she was in the middle of torrent. Two men grabbed her, and pushed her to the ground. One man held a sub machine gun to her neck, while the other surveyed the rest of the area. More and more troops trickled into the hall, soon filling it. They all wore Siege II's so she couldn't see a single face in all the mix up. Just black, red, and white tails. She didn't enjoy the cool muzzle of the weapon, pushing into her fur, and she could still see lazar sights slash through the dissipating smoke in the room. Her wrists were pulled behind her back, and latched together.

"Prisoner secured!" One of the soldiers yelled, as he pointed a weapon at Syxx, who just smiled sinisterly at him. The soldier kicked over the table finding the hidden weapon, which Krystal had stolen.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"All Clear. Move the General up."

Krystal was pulled up from the floor by the cuffs and forced through the blast-door. As she stumbled through, she stepped past dozens, and dozens of soldiers all stacked up and all of their sights pointed into the room. Red lazar sights dimmed as they got the all clear, they were all afraid to let the Slayer free, many even pointed at her, and at the back of the lines, stood General Peppy Hare.

"Peppy-" She was cut-off immediately after speaking her first word.

"Listen up Krystal. Just because you are a former team member of StarFox, it doesn't give you any extra pull around here." She had never seen the hare so upset with her before. "Now I promised Fox, that if you ever returned to this system again, that I would give you refuge."

They all heard a laugh that echoed down the hall way, from the detain Slayer. It was blood curdling and dark. A marine slammed the butt of his pistol on the glass door twice.

Peppy continued. "If you're just going to cause trouble, and act in a rogue manner, then I don't want you here anymore. You have to learn your place here! Because beyond these walls, there is nothing."

Krystal was shocked. A tear nearly came to her eye. Her heart was full of butterflies, and she was feeling light headed, and faint. Krystal couldn't say a thing. She was breathless.

"For god sake Krystal, that man is a monster, and we have professionals to deal with him! We can't have you going around destroying any leads that we can get!" He paused for a moment, holding his forehead with a paw. "What would Fox have to say about your behaviour? How you're risking your life like that?"

There was complete silence. Her breath shuttered. She didn't know what to say though. She was speechless. Never before had she seen Peppy so upset and she knew that her behavior was wrong. The silence was cracked by Syxx's laugh from down the hall as the last remark.

A Marine smacked the butt of the rifle against the glass wall. "Quiet!"

The scene only distracted them for a moment, and Peppy turned back to Krystal. "Security. Take her to the brig."

"Wait Peppy!" She finally spoke out. She just noticed Falco, and Katt over Peppy's shoulder, but her attention turned back to the Hare. "I know how to stop this."

Peppy put his paw up. "Hold on a moment Sergeant." Peppy approached her. "You got information from him?"

Krystal just nodded.

The hare bit down on his lip. "Un-cuff her Sergeant. We'll see what she has to say… first." He dismissed Krystal to the remainder of the team, and rounded up the rest of the security. "I want this door repaired, and triple the guard on the holding! Inside and out! Don't let something like this happen again! Falco and team, come to conference room, we'll discuss matters further at that point."

Katt ran up to Krystal. "What the hell were you thinking? You know they thought you went crazy and were going to kill him! We can't afford that Krystal!" Her voice dipped to sorrow. "I don't want to see any more death."

"It was all worth it Katt. I know how to stop the war."

* * *

X

* * *

Upon arriving in the conference room, everyone took their seats. Peppy took his seat at the head of one end of the table, and Leon, the PM, took head at the other side. The hare waited for everyone to calm down, and the room to become silent, before starting. He adjusted his paws in front of him, and cleared out his throat firmly, and began:

"Despite recent uncertainties, and a rather messy way of getting intelligence from our guest, it seems we have retrieved some information. Information that might be helpful. I'm not going to waste any time, so Krystal please begin."

The vixen's heart jumped. She was speaking at a large table full of extremely important people. She took a deep breath and begun, hoping that what she was saying didn't sound crazy. "We cannot stop the war by ourselves. We need help. There's only one way that we can possibly stop the bloodshed. We need to ask Syxx for help."

At that moment, there was a stir of uncertainty in the room, as everyone mumbled amongst themselves.

Peppy's frail voice rumbled. "Quiet. Please."

Krystal continued. "Syxx is the only one who can stop this war, and if that's true, than we need his help more than we think."

Lionel was the first to speak. The lion rumbled in his deep voice. "This man is responsible for countless deaths. Upon speaking to him, I believe that he has no intension in helping our cause. How do we get him to help us?"

Everyone's head turned to Peppy, and all the Hare did was gesture his paw toward a blue fox. "Krystal. Tell us what you know."

"You remember when you had a mission on Sauria? Back when you worked for StarFox? On the planet, there are spirits. They're called the Krazoa. They're the only way we can stop Syxx."

Peppy leaned back into the chair, bringing his paws together in his lap. "How can the spirits stop him?"

"Peppy, the only way to stop this war is to stop him. The spirits will purify his soul. I believe now that it is our only hope to stop the war."

One of the brigadier generals spoke over the table. "Sir, the origin of this infection came from planet Sauria. There is no telling how bad the infection is on the surface. Most our troops are held down on Katina anyways. We don't have those kind of forces to execute an attack on the planet."

Another man spoke. "What if we use a tactical insertion of Black Ops? We can surgically place five or six teams onto the surface of the planet to capture the package. Easy in, and easy out."

Peppy silenced them by lifting his paw. "I'm afraid a mission to Sauria at this point is out of the question. We don't have the resources. Besides, a tactical team won't be able to capture a Krazoa. There are only two people in the entire Lylat System who can capture a Krazoa."

"And one is dead." Krystal quickly added.

Peppy nodded, agreeing with her. "One is dead." Peppy agreed. "But if you have to be pure of heart Krystal, why do you think Syxx's body will be able to withhold the spirit?"

Krystal's heart slammed against her ribcage. She wanted to tell Peppy the secret. But she froze. "I think it's the only hope we have left."

"Krystal, you are the only one who will be able to transport the Spirit back here."

"And I'll go." Said Krystal.

Peppy paused, in shock. "What?"

"I'll go." She repeated herself.

"Absolutely not. I won't let you put your life on the line like that."

"Peppy, I'm the only one who can transport the spirit. You and I both know this. It's the only way we can get it back to the planet."

Peppy sighed. "Damn it."

"Peppy, this might be the last chance we have to save the planet. If I don't go, than it might already be too late. I can handle myself."

Falco leaned back in the chair and put his wings behind his head. "We can't just stay here and sit on our hands Peppy. We're just waiting for the Aparoids to infest the planet."

A general spoke up. "I agree Sir. We're not just talking about losing Corneria. We're talking about the entire extinction of the Lylat System. We have a lead. I suggest we follow it."

"Please Peppy, we have to do something!" Krystal begged.

Everyone in the room waited in silence. Every eye locked onto Peppy, as he thought. "Dunoff can we do anything about the Arwings?"

The whole room seemed to light up. For the first time since the flash it seemed like they had hope, and that they had a plan to fight back.

An older-middle aged brown wolverine looked up. He adjusted his white lab coat, and reviewed some of the stats on the hollow-panel. His accent was thick with Russian. He cleared his throat heavily before beginning to speak. "I suppose it is possible to replace some of the conduits. If we replace the central motherboard, than the ship would function, however there would be no radar, guided systems, or user bits. No auto pilot and no weapons lock. You'd be flying blind."

Falco laughed. "Just like the old days."

"The ships would work though?" asked Peppy.

The man simply nodded. "All basic controls would be functional. For well experienced pilots, it would be possible."

Peppy hesitated for a moment before giving the orders. "Fine, get working on that. Falco, you and Katt will be escorting Krystal to the orbit. Once you get there, you'll dock at the main station, and in the matter of a few days, maybe Slippy can get your ships up and running again."

"Slippy?" Krystal asked. "Slippy is still ok?"

Falco nodded. "He took up a job as an engineer on the defence platform after StarFox broke up. Still a wrench puller. Best mechanic I've ever met. He works for SFX now."

"As much as I'd like to see Slippy again," Krystal crossed her arms, "I don't have that long Peppy. I have to leave sooner than that. Is there any other way that I can get moving faster than that?"

Falco crossed his arms. "What about us? What do we do when we get there?"

"You'll be assisting the air forces on Katina thereafter. I'm sure they could use you there. And Krystal, If you're that intent on leaving, than maybe the Orbit Defence platform can get build you a gate."

Krystal's eyes lit up. "A gateway? To Sauria?"

He nodded. "If we're lucky. Dunoff, get working on those new mother boards for three Arwing M-Two's. Everyone else is staying here, we need as much help as we can get. Any questions?"

Everyone around the table had a glow to their faces. They all were happy to be doing something. Anyone wanted to help in any way that they could.

Peppy's face slowly lit up too. "We'll need special forces to escort the pilots and the engineers to the hangers. I'm sure we'll have no shortage of volunteers. You are all dismissed. Get good rest tonight, because tomorrow, we take this fight back to the enemy. Dismissed."

The room slowly emptied, as everyone went off to perform their tasks. However, General Hare remained in his seat. Krystal was just about to leave the room when she noticed. Peppy's head drooped down to the floor, and his paw-tips were interlocked between each other.

Krystal approached him. "Peppy? Are you alright?"

He looked up at her, and smiled timidly. "Yes Krystal. I'd like to apologize for the way I acted. Your actions were wrong, but I had no right to make a scene with you, and treat you like a child. You're not. You may have just saved us, and this planet. You're like family to me."

"Peppy…"

"I… I just… wish that Fox was still with us." A tear dripped down his fur.

Krystal put her paw on Peppy's lap. And Peppy put his paw over hers. "I'm sorry Peppy."

He brushed his tear off his cheek. "We could really use his help right now. He'd know what to do."

Krystal gave Peppy a hug, and slowly walked out of the room. Her tapping boots echoed through the room, and she left Peppy alone, slowly shutting the door behind her, she held back her own tears. Seeing Peppy like that really hurt her. Guilt immediately plagued Krystal's heart. She didn't know if it was right to tell him. She was afraid that it would just break him up even more. Perhaps it was best for him never to know. She came to the realization that she no longer kept the secret to protect Syxx… Fox. It was for keeping the ones who loved Fox safe, from him.

She had to protect them from Syxx. She only wished someone could have done the same for her.


	18. Deep Syxx

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter XVIII  
Deep Syxx  
**_Syxxfox_

* * *

_"Internal power to enable,  
External power to disabled,  
Primary weapons to enable,  
Secondary__ weapons__ to enable and primed,  
Life support to enable,  
Deflector shields to enable,  
Target systems to enable,_

_All Systems Go,_

_Acknowledged All Systems are go,  
Weapons primed, and ready."_

* * *

**The Wingless **** – "**_**Godspeed" (Corneria)**_

The excitement in everyone's hearts passed. The walk up the stairs to the containment doors at the main level of the complex was silent. Not a single Marine, pilot, or engineer said a single word, as their footsteps echoed on the steel grating of the stairs, that they trekked up to, toward the containment doors. The Special Forces all wore green and black armouring, that protected them from head to tail in a protected vacuum suit. Members of Star Falco, and the engineers wouldn't be so lucky to have armour, they were however, protected by radiation suits; large white suits that had a clear but soft plastic window to look out of. Most of the time, Krystal could only see directly in front of her, and nowhere else. They were completely un-armoured, and a single cut in the thin fabric could expose them to photonic radiation, possibly, leading to death. Krystal had already experienced radiation poisoning. Though reversible, she never wanted to go through it again.

Krystal walked in front of Star Falco, but behind the Marines. They were armed with heavy rifles and machine guns. Members of Star Falco just had small Blasters, and the engineers didn't even have space for weapons, not with the tools that they had to carry with them. Krystal carried her staff in one paw, while the other held onto her Blaster's grip, by the strap on the outside of the white radiation suit. Underneath the suit, on her belt, there was a holster, but the Blaster would be out of access there, and therefore, useless.

Katt tapped Krystal on the shoulder, "Krys? What's it like out there? I'm… scared."

"Don't worry Katt. It's not going to be that bad." Krystal could sense that Katt was nervous, and it made Krystal afraid for her. "Falco? You good?"

"I guess I'm ready as I'll ever be. Can't wait to get back into the air again… and off this planet. Corneria's not home anymore."

Katt smiled. "You're a nomad anyway Falco."

Krystal smiled slightly inside the protective gear, even as they neared the check point. The large hatch was opened by two guards that quickly waved the large team through. Krystal once again found herself in the bright silvery decontamination room. It was cramped with that many people and it felt like they were locked between two worlds. The large oval door leading to the main floor of the complex hissed loudly, and was swung open… slowly.

The mood immediately changed in the atmosphere. Most off all, it was dark. They all walked out of the bright silvery room, into the dark hallway of the main floor of the complex. The Marines that greeted them all work Siege class suits, but still no words were said. They were just led in through the dark halls. The walls were grubby and floors were filled with dirt, garbage, office supplies, and dust. The last time she was up here was when she fought Syxx. And she had come up with no protective gear, and against Peppy's will. She tried to block out the thought patterns of the doomed.

"Careful." A Marine mumbled. "This dust is plasma-active. Don't get it in your suits."

Katt grabbed Krystal's paw as they entered the apocalyptic world, holding her tight as they walked down the dark halls.

One of the two Marine's escorted them to an area where there were Marine's slicing through sheet metal braces over a thick blast door. The light from the plasma torches was the only thing that illuminated the halls besides the flashlights on the Black Ops rifles.

The large husky female was the one leading the brigade. "Alright Marines, we have one hour to get the pilots to their ships. There's a big dust storm on the way, so let's try to get this done quick so we can get these guys in the air, and our asses out of there, and back into the shelter."

"Engagement?" A Marine asked.

"Everything is hostile."

"Yes Ma'am."

The Marine with the plasma cutter, lifted his face mask, and gave a thumb up. "We're ready to let you go. You have over-watch from the second floor of the complex out to five hundred meters. Less once that storm closes. Once you're out, we're welding the doors shut again, until you get back. Clear?"

Porter nodded, "Any militia's around lately?"

"We've had more contact in the East, your heading West. But we've still had stragglers we've been picking off, defiantly quieted down in the past week though."

"Nothing to serious?" She asked. "Just watch your quarter's squad."

"One more thing Ma'am. There's still at least one Slayer roaming the city."

Porter loaded her weapon, and pulled back the action. "Ready up team. Lock and load. Don't be afraid to open up on any confirmed targets, but let the Snipers do their work. We don't need any more attention than we'll already have. If it's not shooting at you, don't shoot at it… until it sees you."

The Marine Engineer put his helmet back on. Two guards were planted on either side of the door, ready to support them as they leave.

"Ready?"

Porter put her weapon up to the door. "Do it."

The Marine fired up the torch for just another moment, and cut the last bolt holding the door locked. The moment he was done cutting through the steel he pulled himself and cutter back from the door, swapping his plasma torch for a rifle. One of the two guards slammed his boot into the door, sending it flying outward. A beam of blinding red light cut inside, but the two guards didn't hesitate running outside, and crouching, with the muzzles of their weapons searching through the parking lots.

"Go! Move!"

"This is Eagle-Eye on fast watch." The snipers spoke through the radio. "We'll be covering you."

"Copy Eagle."

"Good luck."

For Krystal and the rest of them, the light was nearly unbearable. But they all stepped outside, and into the world of the apocalypse. As soon as they were out, the guards folded back inside the structure, closing the door behind them, and already working on welding it shut again.

The new world greeted them. Red skies loomed down upon them, as black clouds raced across them. The lots were littered with the sight of quickly rotting bodies, and destroyed cars. It was so silent though. Not even a breeze of wind plagued them. Even through the suit though, the air smelled burnt with the stench of a million bodies rotting in the city streets.

Falco broke the silence. "This is horrible."

Katt tried to hide behind Krystal. "I don't feel so good."

"Let's get moving. We've got less than an hour before that storm closes." Said Porter.

"Come on Katt." Said Krystal. "We have to go."

Katt tightened the grip on her gun, and didn't stray from the pack. Neither did Falco. He hugged close to those who had the larger weapons. Krystal could still sense the other Slayer. He was close, but he didn't yet know about them. She wanted to keep it that way. If the others knew that there was another Slayer lurking around, watching them, it would make them even more uneasy than they already were. She could tell he was waiting until he had an opportunity. She hoped they didn't just give him one.

Porter put the weapon over her shoulder. "Stay together. Don't fall behind."

When they got a little further away, it was hard not to trip over dead bodies. Every step was an effort not to stumble over a carcass. Thousands that had been gunned down, in the name of preserving the Lylatian race. The sacrifice from the Slayers. Syxx killed many millions. She knew that the dependence of their survival would kill many more. Krystal however did notice that many of the bodies had old weapons with wooden stocks. Many old guns fired projectiles that were outdated _many_ years ago by plasmatic weapons. She knew nothing about them. They looked old and rugged. She had never even handled one. Defiantly signs of a militia.

"We need to keep moving." The entire group continued to follow Porter. "Eagle eye. We're moving toward the hangers now."

Everyone's hearts were racing now. Katt hugged close to Krystal. "Do you think there are more Slayers out here?"

Krystal shrugged. "I don't know, Katt."

"Krystal beat one up! They can't be that tough!"

Krystal's heart raced. "I only beat him because he was already wounded... Even then... I barely won."

The hangers were in sight after a short while. Katt was sick to her stomach, and Krystal was on the watch for the other Slayer. She didn't know where he was, but he now knew about them, and it was making her anxious. She knew he had seen them, and he was either watching them, or following them now, giving Krystal the urge to keep looking over her shoulder, but so far, there was nothing. She didn't want to scare Katt anymore than she already was, and checking over her shoulder so often was making Katt nervous.

"Ground Squad this is Eagle Eye. You're leaving our sight max now. We'll let you know if we see anything, but you're on your own from here on in."

"Copy Eagle. Thanks for the support."

"Stay Frosty ground squad."

When they finally approached the hangers, they were nearly crippled. The one that housed the Arwings was on a severe slant, and threatened to fall over. This was one of the few areas that had no bodies. The Marines were cautiously approaching the hanger doors. The windows were black, and no one could see inside.

Krystal was anxious to get inside. Her mind sparked as she sensed the Slayer closing in on them. She held her staff behind her back, and wielded her Blaster. The vixen pointed it into the redness. It was cloaked. She could not see him. She could only sense him. She didn't hesitate to flutter the trigger of the pistol, spraying the area. The Blaster overheated, as the last bolt whizzed through the air. It made contact with the invisible entity. It splashed over sleek armor, as the suit sparked bright blue all around it. The Slayer was stunned, as he held his forearm in front of his face, crouching down, he stumbled.

As soon as the bolt made contact with the figure, it jumped to the side furiously, and rolled behind a machine that was used on the tarmac.

"Contact rear!" One of the Marines shouted.

"Thermals up!"

The machine was sprayed with plasma bolts, as the Marines set down a hell of suppressing fire.

"Get inside! Now!" The large husky shouted.

"Breaching!" An Op screamed and kicked in the door.

Everyone quickly followed into building, following behind the dog. The door was shut hard. They were then surrounded by darkness. Flash lights on rifles lit up, as they explored the hanger. A thin layer of dust covered everything in the building. The Arwings resided in the back corner of the hanger. Two men remained stationed at the door where they had entered from.

"What the h-ll what that thing!"

Krystal put her blaster back in her holster. "There was a Slayer stocking us."

Katt hissed at her. "What! What didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want to scare anyone more than they already were. I was keeping track of it! I know when we're safe. It was curios, but I now know, we're not safe. We need to get out of here."

"What's he thinking?"

Krystal thought for a moment. Her sixth sense filtered out the thought waves of everyone in the hanger; to find the thought pattern of the Slayer, who stalked them from outside. "He wants inside. He knows we're up to something, and he's not happy about it."

"Enough!" The large husky growled. "Get to work so we can get out of here! Get some charges on the doors. If it tries to break in, blow it."

The engineers took out flashlights, and pried open the cock pits to the Arwings. Each one quickly was torn apart in a matter of seconds, with parts all over the floor. The sounds of drills, and torches hissed as the mechanics ripped through the ships.

"The rest of you are on over watch. Can we get lights up in here?"

A Marine walked up the dark steps to the railing above the hanger. He wielded his knife, and cut through the thick cloth shutters, revealing orange light into the hanger. He peaked out the window, looking for something. He saw nothing though. No sign of the Slayer or any life what so ever.

Porter got onto the radio. "Eagle Eye, this is Porter. We've made contact with the Slayer. We're pinned in the hanger. The Slayer is hunting us."

"Copy that ground. There's no way we can get to you. You'll have to hold out as long as you can."

The crew slipped out of their radiation suits, under the suits they were ready to fly, each in their flight uniforms. Krystal adjusted her tight flight suit, and holstered her Blaster. She pulled her tail out of the suit and gave it a fast fluff.

Falco reached his ship, and rubbed his wing across the leading edge of the craft. "How many of those things you think are out here?"

Krystal swallowed hard. "I don't know. I can only sense one."

"One is already too many." Said Porter.

Katt grabbed Krystal by both shoulders, and stared at her. "Where is it? Where's the Slayer now?"

Krystal closed her eyes to think. "He's still outside. He's waiting for us. I can feel it."

"Does it know what we're doing?"

"No. He wants inside the complex. He doesn't know what we're doing. He wants to though." The vixen paused. "Stay away from that wall!" she yipped.

The Marine's raised their weapons to the door as through the silence, a knock, knock rattled the thin door. Everyone in the hanger stopped what they were doing for a moment to listen. The knocking came again one more time, but this time, from a different place. Everyone's heart raced. They felt like they were surrounded, as they took refuge from the monster that lied behind the walls, of their wounded shelter.

Krystal's eyes followed the knocks, and everyone stared to her after the sounds ended. "That's him. He want's inside. He's trying to scare us."

"It's working." Falco swallowed hard.

"Keep working everyone. Don't stop." Porter lowered her voice to a near whisper.

A gun shot rang from outside. The window at the top of the hanger shattered. Radioactive dust poured in, and glass showered the floor of the hanger, landing all around them.

Porter barked. "That wind is picking up! How much longer?"

The hound at the top of the railing slowly peaked his muzzle out of the window, to look around at the tarmac beneath them. In his vision he saw a figure pop up from behind the cover of a burnt out truck. The monster stood to in profile, and held a pistol in one paw, and pulled the trigger inward, only a single time, sparking one bright flash.

"Target-" A sharp snip is heard, from the man's skull. A thin mist of blood showered everyone inside the hanger, from the railing above. Katt nearly threw up. She grabbed the hull of her Arwing, and gagged, leaning toward the floor. Krystal winced, as red speckles appeared on the paint of the wing, and her fur. He went limp, and fell over the railing. The hound plummeted to the hanger floor, flipping from over the railing above, tumbling as he fell. He landed in a heavy pile on the ground. He lay motionless, as blood fell around him, and pooled beneath him.

"Medic." The order is given below Porters breath.

Another Op approached the body. She swung the rifle over her shoulder, and slowly turned the man's neck. The full-face helmet was torn from one end to the other, and blood poured out from the tares in the helmet. The blood puddled on the floor around her, and she moved the avoid it.

The medic just turned and shook her head slowly. "He's gone. Dead before he landed."

Porter sighed. "Stay away from the windows. Keep working."

Katt shivered, and held onto Krystal's arm. Katt was pale. "Krystal… I'm scared."

"How we getting out of here Ma'am?"

"I don't know yet." The Black Op replied.

"If we run for the complex we're dead. That thing will pick us off one by one. We won't even see it. That thing's got a damn sharp eye."

"We'll deal with it later." Porter growled. "We've killed them before! We'll do it again!"

"Ma'am. The ships are operational! They hadn't sustained as much damaged as we had anticipated."

"Already?"

"There's the silver lining I guess. Two minutes to refuel, and we can get out of here."

"How do we get out of here? There's a Slayer hunting us." One of the Marines mumbled in a shuttering voice.

All was silent for a moment. No one said a word, as they listened in the silence for the Slayer to track them down.

Porter lifted the weapon. "Let's give the Fly-boys the cover that they need. Lock and load Marines, we're taking this fight to the Slayer."

"Whoa! Hold on guys!" Falco came up with the answer. "We have three ships. We'll fly you back to the complex."

Everyone turned to him, and stared at him, as if he was crazy.

Falco jumped on the wing of the Arwing. "Come on! Two to a ship! We used do this all the time! Right Krystal?"

The vixen looked up at him on the wing. "You're right Falco. We can do this!"

The Black Op looked at the Marines, and the engineers. She bit her lip within her helmet. "Alright. One gunner to each ship, and engineers, try to keep your heads down. We'll get out of this."

"What about Kindle?" An Op pointed his nose at the dead body of the fallen Marine.

Porter was quick to dismiss it though. "His sacrifice won't be forgotten. Keep the charges planted. Maybe it'll walk through."

"Let's do it then. Before the Slayer come's looking for us." Falco jumped off the wing, and swung himself into the cockpit. "Keep a tight formation, and keep it level. Let the ships take any fire so no one else has too. These things can handle some small arms fire."

The Marines and mechanics climbed onto the wings of the ships, and held on tightly to the flares, located on the fuselage. The Black Ops remained with their weapons trained on the doors of the complex, afraid to let anything near them.

Falco begun with the pre-flight checks. "Communication's line; green. Life support system online. Begin priming engines!"

Krystal pulled in a lever. The ship slowly started to buzz, and before long it hissed loudly with the rest of the ships within the hanger. Bright blue flared out of the engines, both below and behind them. The three ships engines slowly warmed up and a whirlwind swept through the hanger, engulfing them in a storm of dust.

Krystal slowly let back the throttle, and the engines of the ship were tamed. "I'm online."

Katt was the next to respond. "Standing-by Falco."

Falco's ship slowly lifted off the pavement. "Internal power to enable. Primary Weapon's systems enabled. Secondary weapon system's enabled and primed!"

Katt quickly barked out. "Deflector system's primed!"

Krystal quickly followed. "Targeting systems are out! Weapon's primed and ready! Nova bombs primed!"

"All system's go!" Falco shouted back. "Krystal! Light it up!"

Katt smiled. "Hang on guys!"

"Eagle Eye! Things are about to get hot!" Porter barked.

"Copy that ground. We'll cover your approach back to base when you're in range. The wind storm's picking up. plant strobes so we can find you."

"No need Eagle! We're arriving in style! We're getting airlifted in!" Porter shut off the link. "Brace yourselves!"

Krystal's ship slowly lifted from the tarmac and hung in the middle of the hanger. The blasters on the underside of each white-silver wing glowed bright blue, and hissed. Each wing carried underneath it, a giant fireball of blue plasma. She pivoted the ship toward the bay doors of the hanger, and let the release go. The skinny tin walls splintered at the contact of the conjoined fireball. Dust and debris filled the hanger, as a whole wall was taken down, and melted. The three ships quickly scurried out the open wall, through the smoke, and took off into the sky above the hangers, just in time to see it collapse to the ground in a pile of dust and rubble. The charges on the door were tripped, and went up in a bright green fountain of plasma-fire. The passengers held the wings tight. As they struggled to stay aboard, the Marines muzzles searched the ground.

"We'll have you home in no time guys." Falco laughed. "Leave the skies to us!"

Porter chuckled. "You can have 'em."

The ships approached the fallout complex. They dropped the teams off on the top of the building, and they quickly made their way downward, and to the support balcony, where snipers crouched. They safely retreated to the inside.

Before Porter went through the thick storm door, she turned up to the hovering craft. "Thanks for the ride team."

"Thanks for the assist." Falco replied quickly. "We'll take it from here."

"Good luck. God speed." Porter stared to the sky as the ships slowly rose higher. She then retreated to the safety of the shelter.

Krystal followed the Slayer in her head. She could sense where he was, and she could sense they were being watched. The little fox turned her head, to see a black silhouette standing on top of a destroyed tanker. Though she couldn't see its eyes, she knew that they were with each other, as Krystal made a low pass over the parking lot. The Slayer followed his head with the fighter, as it passed over him. It made her blood curdle in her veins.

"_I know you can __hear__ me_." A shiver went down Krystal's spine. A chill went through her bones. A dark voice echoed in her head. "_0ei nacc dek jihlalo_." Krystal stared at the Slayer in awe, and fear as Syxx's voice echoed through her mind. Syxx's thoughts went straight to her head, as he hotwired a discrete pattern to her minds-eye, where he could talk to her… and only her. The gift… the curse of her sixth sense.

She wondered how he learned to speak Saurian. With Krystal's advanced mind, it took her only a matter of hours to learn, and Fox had taught her most her English in matter of a few days. She was able to learn fast. A gift of the Cerinians, now being used against her.

Katt laughed uneasily. "Not today Slayers. Krystal, you ready?"

His voice rang, as Krystal's paws shook on the controls and the ship too vibrated. She hadn't been this afraid since she fought Syxx. She had never been able to access his mind until recently, and it made her uneasy, that he had access to hers. Even with her Cerinian powers, it felt like she was just a puppet of Syxx's.

"No…" Her voice shook. "No! You're wrong!" tears ran down her cheek. She wanted to burst out crying.

"Krystal?" Katt asked timidly. "You there hun?"

"_Kemehhen rocedwj ke mo._"

Falco took command. "We don't have time for this! Pull it together! Spread the wings, and check all diffuser systems. We're taking this fight back to them. Let's show them what we're made of!"

The ships all circled around each other in the air. Their engines howled in the wind. Dirt, dust and ash was flushed out by both the plasma turbine engines, and the approaching storm.

"Punch it." Falco barked.

The ships circled one more time, before their noses pointed upward. They spun around each other as they broke gravity, and blasted off. The ground rumbled in a cloud of dust, as the Arwings wings flared viciously. The Slayer watched them from below. The images of the ships contrasted against the red sky, as they both reflected in his silver visor. The ships disappeared into the decaying sky. He watched the ships and listened as they vanished. The Slayer then turned his head toward the complex, and pulled the action on the weapon back, and the receiver shot forward, clunking on weapon loudly. He glared at the military complex.

Krystal held the controls tight. Her teeth bared as the ship shook. She tried not to cry, but drops still beaded down her soft, white fur.

"_Xocc unuakj 0ei, Krystal."_


	19. Warpath

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter XIX  
Warpath  
**_Syxxfox_

* * *

"_Armed and Cloaked,  
With no sins of glory,  
I ripped it clean,  
Tried and though,  
These thoughts of redemption,  
Are nothing more than lies"_

**Black Canvas**** – **_**"Whytte"**_

* * *

From the orbit of planet Corneria, it looked like a warzone. The planet's surface was scorn with the marks of the detonations of weapons of mass destruction. Destroying nations, and scaring continents. Many of the skies were fused blood red, and hundreds of super-cell storms encircled entire continents, enveloping them altogether. The planet's very own weapons were turned against it, by a force that it created, and lost control of. The legend of the Slayers quickly spread through the system, and stories, fact or fiction, would soon arise, of the might of the war criminals.

The Arwing's engines high pitched whistle slowed to a mellow hum, Krystal was able to look back over the planet, to see the wasteland that it had become. The planet once green, and vibrant with life, now was a plasmatic desert. It broke her heart to see the planet in this state… because it wasn't the first time that she had seen this happen. The blue fox had seen it happen before. This is how her planet was destroyed. She still remembered Cerinia burning bright blue, before being destroyed all together, by an uncontrollable firestorm. This was the second civilization that she had to watch burn. Another home destroyed. Her heart split. The work of thousands upon thousands of years of civilization, scorched in the blink of an eye.

Katt sighed, as she peered out the tinted window of her Arwing. "Where will the survivors go?"

"We have to move forward. I think our only choice is to rebuild." Falco replied.

Krystal bit her lip, and lowered her head, slowly shutting her eyes. "Yes. We do have to rebuild. But we can't here. I fear that Corneria has been lost to this fire storm."

Katt asked again. "Where will we go then?"

"Katina probably. It was going to get colonized one day. It's already got some pretty serious cities. Couple hundred million people… anyway," Falco huffed, "it might as well be today that we colonize it completely. It's already being settled. Now that Corneria is gone, that's where we will have to go."

A voice crackled over the radio, breaking the delicate atmosphere of the conversation.

"This is Fleet Admiral Finch. Please confirm your identities. You have thirty seconds to comply."

"This is Falco. Leader of team Star Falco. We're here to assist."

Ahead of them there was an immense blockade of silver and grey navy ships, all surrounding the planet. Protecting what was left of their home.

Falco continued. "Look guys, you might as well let the Apariods have that planet. There ain't nothing left down there for any of us."

"Until we get final orders, we're not letting them take this planet. A word of advice team. We haven't sent scouts to confirm, but the fleet stationed at Katina has reason to believe that the infection has spread into the meteor belt. Watch your back in there. We'll be here, on station in the event of an attack. The entire Cornerian Military has issued a no-quarter command to any enemy vessel." Said Admiral Finch. "Aparoids, or HE-M1's. Any Hook Echo will be blown out of the sky."

"Thank you for the information Admiral." Krystal said.

"Please, if there is anything else that we can do for you, don't hesitate to ask."

"There's one more favor we need to ask of you and your crew." Krystal replied.

"That's right." Falco added. "We need a gateway."

"A gateway?"

"More specifically. I need one." Krystal asked. "Peppy said that you might be able to create us one?"

There was silence over the radio. "During these times we cannot risk opening a path to any interstellar travel. Creating a gate will leave the station exposed to-"

"Look what happened to the planet Admiral!" the vixen cut in. "Do you think anyone plays by the rules anymore?" she paused."What do we have left to lose? If we don't find a way to fix this, soon Katina will look exactly like Corneria."

There was once again a long silence over the radio. Krystal bit her lip. Her heart pounded hard. She needed this gate built. The flight to Sauria would take days. That was precious time that they did not have. This war needed to be stopped as soon as possible. Interference from other threats would prolong the trip even further. Fuel, and food she didn't have, and trouble that she didn't need. The Arwing, in this state, wasn't ready for a journey like that.

The Admiral addressed her back in a gruff voice. "We've never weaved a portal for a single ship, let alone that single ship being a small fighter. It takes a lot on energy."

Katt nearly cut him off. "She's the only one who knows how to stop this war."

The Admiral laughed. "You know how to stop this war?"

Krystal growled. "Not yet. But I know where to begin. We have direct orders from General Hare."

The Fleet Admiral paused. There was an eerie silence cast over the radio, before the man finally answered. "Where do you wish to go?"

"Planet Sauria. I have reason to believe this is were it all began."

"Very well. You have your gate. I guess desperate times calls this sort of action. Just like StarFox would do. This is Admiral Finch to all ships. Begin clearing from the main station, minimum, five hundred kilometers. Defensive formation."

The ships began to break their formation from around the orbital defense platform. The larger of the ships, mostly cruisers, backed away to reveal a massive space station, that seemed to spend most of its time hidden, behind the single moon of Corneria, where it couldn't be directly attacked. And for such large structures, they moved quickly, opening up a spot for the station to sit, within the matter of a few minutes.

"We'll have a gate ready for you in just a few moments." The admiral spoke over the grid.

They listened in on the chatter, of the engineers and operators as they engaged in the creation of the gate.

"Towers one, two and three are ready for transfer."

"Copy. Charging ignition. Standby tower."

The circular station began to spin. Out from the center, three large towers projected, and combined at their tips to form a large ring between them.

"Tower, this is Ignition. Were standing by for zypher support."

"Roger that Ignition. Zypher ring expanding, in three… two… one."

The three towers uncoupled from the station, and began floating off on their own, and stopping shortly in front of the platforms. The three couplings unlocked from the others, and slowly started expanding, bringing with it, a long silver ring that banded between the three couplings, expanding to nearly the size of the entire space station.

"Ignition, this is Tower. Ready for gateway formation. All terminals green, and standing by."

"Roger that. Calculating end point… coordinates received. All ships please stand clear! Initiating ignition sequence."

The three terminals began to glow bright green. It was nearly enough to be blinded as the ring burned with energy. Each terminal grew a long vine of green plasma, as the three plasma trails slowly came together at the center of the ring. A bright flash ensued as the trio of energy bursts made contact with each other. The center of the ring quickly filled with a green-yellow plasma glass, as the gate was formed. Through the energy field, Krystal could see planet Sauria.

"Gateway creation complete. Standing by for transfer."

Admiral Finch's voice hissed over the radio. "Good luck to you. Our fate rests in your hands now."

Krystal's silver and blue Arwing neared the gate, all alone. The ship approached the reflective yellow surface, and Krystal watched herself look in the wavy green mirror, glowing with energy.

"Good luck Krystal. I know you can do it." Katt encouraged her.

"Yeah!" Falco added. "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do out there huh?"

"Thank you Katt. Thank you Falco." The little blue fox replied.

"Good Luck Krystal!" A high pitched and cheerful voice chirped over the radio, sharply clipping at the top of the VU meter.

"Slippy!" Krystal grinned.

"Hi Krystal!" He replied. "I was hoping I'd get a chance to talk to you before you left! My sensors indicate that you're flying without astrogation systems, and targeting systems. I can have you up and running again in a few days, if you can dock at the station."

"I'm sorry Slippy." She closed her eyes. "I don't have that kind of time. I need to get to Sauria before it's too late.

The Admirals voice chimed in over the channel. "We can't maintain the gateway for much longer. You have less than sixty seconds before the gate closes. If you're going to make your move, you better do it now."

"Slippy. I'm sorry. I have to go."

"Please... Try to come back alive Krystal. We haven't got much left." He said.

Katt cracked a smile. "Try to come back in one piece."

"Are you sure, that you don't want us to come with you?" Falco asked.

"No." The vixen replied. "I know what I'm doing. Katina needs you. I know my way around the planet. I don't want to be slowed down. I need to move fast."

The little fox took a deep breath in. She never had so many lives counting on her before. The fate of the system lied on her hands now, as she tried to protect it from the very person who vowed to defend it, and turned to destroy it. It was all riding on her now.

"We can only maintain the portal for thirty more seconds Star Falco. You have to leave right now!"

The vixen slowly pushed the controls forward. Her paws we shuttering, and she could feel sweat bead on her forehead. The ship's engines began to whine at a higher pitch as they ignited, pushing her forward. The bow of the Arwing entered the glassy plasma, and soon too, she was consumed. The fur on the back of her neck stood on end as she entered the gate, and the silver and blue ship vanished into the green wall.

* * *

X

* * *

Krystal opened her eyes, as if to see a new world. This world however looked worse than Corneria. She had already forgotten of the battle that had happened here in the orbit of the planet. She could barely even see Sauria through the space junk that clouded the planet. The remnants of dozens of pieces of decaying warships, and what seemed like hundreds more fighters rotting in space, hanging in orbit around the planet. The bodies of many of these ships were still intact, but had been blown into two pieces by the bombs the Slayers has planted from within. Hundreds of millions of fragments of debris, ranging in any imaginable size clouded the planet. By looking at the ships in the planets orbit, she couldn't imagine what the surface of Sauria looked like, and she dreaded to find out.

A loud "thump" resonated through the hull, caused her to gasp loudly, and nearly jump out of her fur. The little fox screamed in a short _yip_. Her tail went straight and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, as her eyes shot wide open. She covered her muzzle with both paws, silencing her mouth. A figure in a grey jumpsuit bounced off her canopy. Her eyes turned glassy. A dead pilot. The carcass being preserved perfectly, frozen in space, adrift. Her heart nearly bounced out of her chest, as the silence was broken. She tried to open her radar, but it was just a black screen. If there were Aparoids here she would have to sense them. She couldn't though. She couldn't feel a single thought.

After a long hesitation, Krystal pushed on the controls, sending the Awring into the abyss of the war zone. The Slayers had destroyed everything in their way, leaving a path of destruction from Sauria, all the way to Corneria.

Everything was silent and seemed absolutely still. Krystal thought to herself. _"This is the rebirth place of the Aparoids. How can it be so quiet_?" She recalled the size of the Hive, and the Aparoid Queen that she had fought when she was a part of StarFox. This world looked nothing like that. A part of her heart jumped. "_Fox was the first to be infected! Does that make him their leader? Are Fox's thoughts of redemptions nothing more than lies? Maybe Fox is the only one who knows that the way to stop this war could be suicide..."_

She perished the thought, putting it deep into the back of her head. If this were true, than the only way to rid the system from this infection once again, would be to kill Fox. If it came to that though, she was first tell Peppy, who he really was. Peppy would have to spare him then, and maybe Fox could then find a way to save the system once again… but it was all so confusing. She wondered if Syxx was infected with the Aparoid virus. She couldn't sense it in him, but that didn't mean that it wasn't there.

The Arwing nimbly dodged through the battle zone. Her claw tips remained at the ready on the blasters so if anything was hiding amoung the debris, it wouldn't get the best of her. Amongst this garbage would be perfect for something to be hiding in wait for easy prey.

From the corner of her eye, the fox caught a glimpse of a large white flag ship, that stood out from all the rest of the military ones. It was the Greatfox. The once majestic and powerful ship lay crippled with all the rest. The clean white paint was marked by hundreds of blaster rails. One of the three engines was torn off. Two of the four wings were missing, as only deep gashes remained in the hull. The glass to the bridge was smashed and cracked, exposing the inside to the deadly nothingness. The ship was uninhabitable.

The nimble Arwing weaved through the debris, and before long, Dinosaur Planet was spread out in front of her. The fox gasped. The surface looked completely untouched. It made sense to her, after she thought about it. If there was a catastrophe here, she would have been able to sense the cries of agony. Maybe things on Sauria weren't so bad after all.

All was going smoothly. It was all going almost too smoothly. Her mission seemed easy now. The hard parts were done with. All she had to do now, was find Krazoa Palace, collect a soul spirit, and bring it back in one piece. It seemed simple enough, but would it be enough to stop a great war?

With the Palace still aloft around the planet, it would be almost impossible to find it on her own. With no radar, it would be hopeless. It could take weeks, or even months. She recalled back to Fox's stories about the planet. She remembered a story he told about a Warpstone. This was how he got to, and from the palace. While she had never seen it herself, it may be her only chance to save the system. There was only one Dino she could trust on the face of this planet. She had to land at the Hollow, and find Tricky. He would be able to help her. He helped Fox save the planet. No one knew the planet as well as he did, except maybe Fox…


	20. The Warlord

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul  
****Chapter XX  
The Warlord  
**_SyxxFox_

* * *

"_I've lost my head,  
I've lost my mind,  
I've been right here a thousand times,  
Just missing you,  
And Hating you,  
For what you've gone and put me through_

_I can't believe you'd do this to me,  
After all that we've been through,"_

**Testing Tomorrow** – _**"Miss Belief"**_

* * *

The Arwing began its approach into the atmosphere of the planet. The nose of the craft glowed bright orange, as flames splashed across the canopy of the ship. The navigation systems flickered, showing white snow across the screen. Lights flashed bright red, and a message popped up on the screen next to the control panel. A sharp alarm rang through the cockpit. The screen read_, Navigation System Offline_.

Krystal tightened her grip on the controls. She flew by eye only. The Arwing's console went black, and the ship jumped sharply, in the atmosphere of the planet, shaking Krystal to the bone. A rougher approach into a planet than usual, with no re-entry systems besides the G-diffuser, which always seemed to be problematic on Arwings, she was flying like her forefathers. But this never bothered her. The large clunky ship she used to have didn't have anything like that. No re-entry systems what so ever. She had grown quite used to flying by feel. These systems were just luxury to her.

The ship screamed over the tree-line of the forest of the planet. The leaves shivered as the Arwing screeched overhead. Dinosaurs from the surface of the planet below stared to the sky, as the Krystal slowed the ship to a hover, and slowly let it down in the forest, outside of the hollow, deep in the woods where her ship would be hidden from anyone on the ground, or the air.

The engines of the ship slowly retreated to a low hum, before the powerful reactor core settled once again to a perfect silence that consumed the inside of the ship. Krystal sat within the ship, in the complete stillness. The trees shaded her face only partially, as she stared at the greenness all around her; a refreshing change from the baron wasteland from which she had come, planet Corneria. The hatch of the Arwing, let out a violent hiss, as the canopy slowly swung back, letting in a blast of fresh air that made the vixen gasp sharply. The oxygen was so crisp and serine, lacking the smell of the hell fire that wreaked havoc on the surface on Corneria.

The little blue fox, grabbed her staff, and slowly stepped out of the ship, the Blaster remained inside her holster; something that she would never usually carry with her. She stepped across the forest floor, and felt the crunch of dead leaves between her toes of her sandals. Krystal walked through the forest, not sure of what she was going to find at the hollow. If this was the birthplace of the virus, then surely, it would be infected with the Aparoids.

Krystal pulled the branch away, revealing Thorntail Hollow. What she saw made her gasp. "_The Hollow…_" She whispered to herself. Rolling hills of green paved the landscape, as a crystal waterfall fed a river that trailed through the center of the village. Thorntails drank from the stream, as others grazed on the low foliage, and meadows of the valley. Krystal stood atop the cliff on the edge of the village, looking down over the untouched civilization that thrived before her.

The ground beneath her feet rumbled, as a Thorntail neared the vixen. It turned its mighty head up to the blue fox who stood above him on the cliffs. The dino spoke in his native language to Krystal. "What're you doing here?"

Krystal spoke back to him, understanding the language. "I need to find Krazoa Palace."

"Well, miss Krystal, no one here has seen the Palace in years."

Krystal jumped down off the rocks, and stood before the dinosaur. "What about Prince Tricky? Where is he?"

The dino hung its head low. "I'm sorry miss." He paused. "No one has seen the Prince since the fires in the sky. That was a long time ago. Since then, you are the first outsider to arrive on our planet, since those beasts left us, and the night fire."

"The Slayers?"

"If that's what you call them, miss."

Krystal bit her lip. "Then who else can I talk to?"

"Well, I don't know if I'm much help miss. But if it's Krazoa Palace that you seek, perhaps you should go talk to the Warpstone."

"He can help me?" The fox asked.

"Well, he can be grumpy. He hasn't helped anyone since Fox McCloud brought our planet together again, and he doesn't go out of his way to talk to anyone. By the way Miss, where is Fox McCloud? He hasn't visited us in a long time, not since you and he were last here together, years ago to visit Tricky, and the rest of planet."

Krystal swallowed hard. "No one knows what happened to Fox. He disappeared years ago." She lied to him.

"I'm sorry to hear that Miss. We too have suffered the same with Tricky." The large dino drooped his long head. "But… he was some kind of hero. Nothing like this planet had ever seen. My apologies. The entire planet knew that you and him had something special. My deepest apologies. I feel we could really use him now."

"Please." Krystal put up her paw. Her voice cracked. "That's enough. Thank you for everything."

The dino nodded his head humbly, and continued his business.

Something sparked Krystal's mind. "_My Cloudrunner_!" She thought. "_It's still here_!"

She had completely forgotten about it. It's how she had arrived here in the first place. It stored valuable information and parts of her past. It was parked near Cape Claw, deep in the forest, hidden under the canopy of the trees. She wondered if it was still there, and if everything on it still worked. It may be her only ticket back to Corneria. When she left it there, all the guidance, and weapons systems still worked, and had enough fuel to get her to Katina. Hopefully that was all still functional.

She began to head toward the bay. It was a few hours walk. Not too far; as long as no one, or no-thing got in her way. She knew the tribes around these parts well. The light foots were quite hospitable to her, but Fox had stories of them torturing him before he could win their trust.

The walk was so beautiful. So quiet. Small birds chirped in the trees above, and the grass crunched beneath her.

Soon she entered Lightfoot village. It was so silent here. She knew something must have been wrong. This tribe was usually quite active. The vixen held her staff tight in her hand, and peered through the gate into the village. She looked with her eyes alone before searching with her sixth sense, her telepathy. She was just about to turn around on her heals, and wield her staff, when she heard something behind her.

"Shhhhh!" The light foot hissed. He put his arms out, and motioned them toward the ground. "You want to get us caught!"

"What's going on? Where is everyone?"

She stood looking almost eye to eye with a Lightfoot. It stood on two muscular legs, while having two scrawnier arms. He held a spear; a stick with an arrow head on the end. He was reddish in color, and had blue and white tribal markings across his face, and neck.

"Shhhh! Ever since the fires in the night sky, and the disappearance of the Prince Tricky." The Lightfoot quickly darted his head around back and forth, looking through the forest around them. "The Red Eye roams da' forest. They've never come this close to the Hollow before! Something is really wrong here, we need that Fox to come back, and help us."

Krystal bit her lip, she took a short pause. "I need to get to Cape Claw." The vixen whispered, changing the subject.

"Cape Claw! Ohhhhh, be careful miss. Our last chief went to da' Cape Claw and _Sccccvitt_!" he motioned his claw across his own neck, and held his tongue out, while rolling his eyes back into his head. "The Red Eye. They come for him. Red Eye, worse than Sharpclaw!"

"Thank you."

He bowed his head humbly. "Remember what to do if you see Red Eye. Stay out of their way! And don't let her see you! If she see you, don't stop, don't hide, run. They can see you, and they can smell you."

With that the Lightfoot jumped up into the trees, and disappeared.

Krystal sighed. Her once peaceful walk was now gone. She had to be silent, and listen as she walked through the forest, but even as she neared the Claw, there was no sign of Red Eye.

It wasn't long after that she had found her ship, and her old camp. It was as if no one had touched it since she was last there. Firewood was still stacked, and behind her camp, a little deeper into the forest, there was shades of blue, and white beneath dead branches, that she had covered it with before Syxx exiled her.

She neared the ship, and pulled off the branches. The vixen opened a panel on the side of the Runner, and entered a code into the pad. The ships canopy than slowly swung open. She hopped inside of the ship, and the command pallet quickly opened up.

The vixen quickly checked over the systems. Everything seemed to be in working order, unlike the Arwing that she had flown in on. She primed the weapons and fired up the engines to ensure that they still had fuel, and still worked properly. She smiled. She missed this ship. It was custom made. It was kind of a 'Frankenstein' ship, but you would never know it from the look. It was sturdy, as if it had been manufacture from a company like SFX, when in reality it was made on Kew from an underground weapons dealer, that she had stolen off of, long ago. Frequently, this was where the Bounty Hunters Guild bought most there weapons, if they couldn't buy the used ships off the Cornerian Defenses. There were some things that Corneria would not sell them. Anything photonic, or with a fission-fusion core was off limits.

The engines slowly wound down, until once again they were silent. Krystal let her paws off the throttle, and opened the hatch of the ship. She was just about to leave her seat, when she heard a sharp _be-beep_.

_Logging on…  
Identity… Kursed.  
5 unread messages from Bounty Hunters Guild_

The vixen slowly sat back down in her seat. The computer of the ship, booted up. The screen flickered, before smoothing out shortly after. She raised one eyebrow and opened the inbox of the client. She scrolled through the messages with the keyboard. They were all contracts that had been issued. Contracts from the Guild. She thought nothing of them. Junk mail. Until one caught her eye. Her heart skipped a beat. She opened the message.

_X_

_To: All Members  
From: Bounty Hunters Guild_

_Type: Contract  
Issuer: Conerian Military_

_Target Information  
Target: Special Forces Slayer  
Origin: Unknown  
Class: Spec. Ops.  
Info: The Cornerian military has issued a bounty for Special Forces Individuals who have gone rogue. Slayers are a ten on the danger scale, and will not hesitate to kill. Special Forces individuals are highly trained in every tactical art and frequently can smell traps from miles away. Slayers are warlords, and can be found scattered throughout the system. The photo's provided do not cover every Slayer. A Slayer can be most easily identified by their battle armoring, (photo provided) by small square shaped scars on the back of their neck, or by a white or black star tattooed on their shoulder. These warriors are extremely dangerous, and are armed at all times. Because of their danger level, the Cornerian Military has offered the largest bounty ever given for the capture or kill confirm of a Slayer._

_Additional info  
Bounty: 50,000,000 (fifty-million) credits / head  
Dead or Alive_

_X_

Krystal looked at the photos. Her heart didn't race until she saw a clean headshot of Fox. His golden tooth gleamed in the photo, as he his fangs were bared. Two green eyes stared back at her, looking into her soul. There were other photos there. Photos of their armor and tattoos. She could recognize only one of the warriors. This photo was taken somehow in battle, or in training. The Slayers was on his or her knee, taking a strong, low stance. Blurred plasma flashes erupted in the air around it, scoring the ground by its boots, sending debris into the air. The Slayer was in complete Vortec armoring, boots, helmet and all. Two small sub-machine guns were pointed in the slightly into the air, and the Slayer took cover behind only his forearm. There were other photos of Slayers that she didn't recognize.

She thought to herself. "_One Slayer… could make anyone rich_." She actually thought of catching another to claim the bounty. She checked the status of the contract. It was incomplete, and completely unclaimed. She shook it off though. "_This message was sent just as the war started. Just after Operation Forefront. That was already a long time ago_." Or so it seemed.

She opened another message that also mentioned a Slayer.

X

_Type: Contract  
Issuer: Corneria Military  
Target Information  
Taget Name: Syxx  
Origin: Unknown  
Class: Warlord  
Info: The Cornerian military has issued a bounty for a Rogue Slayer. The danger level of this individual outranks any target the Guild has ever pursued. Warlord refers to an individual that controls a surmountable force of which is a threat to Lylatian welfare. Target __**will**__ be armed. Target is extremely dangerous, and is single handedly responsible for countless deaths among military personal and civilians alike. Syxx is the most dangerous man in the Lylat System, and most dangerous of the Slayers because of his ruthless behaviour, and disregard for Lylatian life. Individual is trained in every tactical art. This Slayer __**will**__ resist, and __**will**__ kill. Do not approach this individual unarmed. The Cornerian Military requests the individual be taken alive if possible, but dead if necessary._

_Additional info  
Bounty: 200,000,000 (two-hundred million) credits / head (dead)  
Bounty: 5,000,000,000 (five billion) credits / head (alive)_

_X_

She scratched her chin. "How interesting."

The vixen found it strange how the company operated, and looking back upon it now, it was quite troubling. She had never seen such a high payout. A war costs billions upon billions of dollars. She guessed they'd rather spend five billion on a bounty, than hundreds on a war. Though the Hunters Guild operated illegally, it had all sorts of clients from the Lylat System… and their biggest client… The Cornerian Government. Krystal wondered if she could claim that bounty now. Not that money was much of an asset anymore, though she knew Katina still had a strong economy, but a world population of only a few hundred million. More now though, with the military on station.

She swung down a keyboard, and replied, claiming that she had returned Syxx alive, to the Cornerian Government. "_Worth a shot._" She felt dirty that she was claiming this cash off Fox, but if Syxx had taught her anything, it was to take care of herself by any means necessary. If she could make money off Syxx, so be it. After she submitted the message, she immediately regretted it, and felt guilty. Krystal told herself that she was turning in Syxx, not Fox. Perhaps in a few weeks, she would check again, who knew.

The vixen took a deep breath, and sighed hard. She was just about to get out of the cab, when she heard the sound of the _ding,_ once again.

She sat back down at her seat. "What could this be?" she murmured to herself. The small fox opened the message.

X

_To: Krystal  
Subject: RE: Claim_

_Hey Kid, haven't heard from you in while, and we've been waiting for this message for a long time. We've confirmed that Syxx has been captured by one "Krystal" by the Cornerian Military. I guess the past is hard to get away from huh? The funds have been forwarded to your account. Here's your "receipt". You made us a lot of money today Kursed. As always… off the record._

_Account Summery  
Claim Status: Approved  
Client: Cornerian Military  
Target: Special Forces Slayer (Alive)_

_Gross Payment: 5,000,000,000  
Bounty Hunters Guild 10%: -500,000,000  
Net: 4,500,000,000_

_Total Account Balance: 4,500,000,402 credits_

X

The vixen's heart raced. She reached into the console of the Cloudrunner, and fumbled through the junk, quickly throwing aside pens, paper scraps and other pieces of junk. Her claws scraped against the steel of the cabinet, until she found what she was looking for. At the bottom, she found a small pocket sized card, in a protective sleeve. Her name was across it. "Kursed" it said, with an account number. She was shocked. She felt light headed. Her jaw dropped, and she hung there in the silence. It took a long time to sink in. She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there.

She slammed on the controls sticks fiercely, making them rumble. Without warning, she exploded in a mad rage. Tear drops splashed down on her lap, her eyes beaded with water. "I can't believe you'd do this to me! After all that we've been through!" She sat alone in the silence, missing Fox, and hating him for what he'd gone and put her through.

Conflicting thoughts filled her head, fear, and the rushes of butterflies. The life of Kursed encircled her. More than anything, she felt guilty. She traded Fox in for cash… at first not even knowing.

The vixen looked down at the card. She bent the plastic slowly, attempting to break the card. But she quickly let go of the plastic and turned her head out the window. Tears came into her vision, and she wiped her green eyes with her forearm. The vixen slowly tucked the card away, where she could carry it with her. It was dirty money… but it was _a lot_ of dirty money!

"I hope this doesn't make me evil, Fox."


	21. Fox McCloud

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul****  
XXI  
Fox McCloud**_  
SyxxFox_

"_The gathering of boys I rely on,  
Know exactly who they are,  
And I will build their protection with bloody hands,  
Some were dealt knuckles and some delivered kisses,  
But initially my heart was in the right place,_

There are times when being engulfed by mountains,  
are the only signs of safety I know,  
And I realize I think this way out of neglection,  
and at the exact thought I reclaim those days of scenery."

**36 Crazyfists** – _**"Song for the Fisherman"**_

* * *

It took a long time for it all to sink in around her. Just like the time she had been taken on as a member of StarFox. She could remember her excitement, and anxiety. Just like how she felt now. Krystal was a millionaire. A billionaire.

After spending a short time on Corneria when she had first arrived, she knew how most girls thought. They wanted money so they could buy things. Clothes, shoes, cars. Though she did enjoy it when Fox would spoil her when they first arrived on Corneria, buying her new outfits, and paying for her food, lodging, everything. Even after her service to the team, she still felt like she had never fully returned his favors. It felt now, like she had betrayed him. Even after what Fox had put her though, she still felt like she was the one who was in debt to him. Their romantic life, cut short by his hard-headedness. Now, she was guilty for turning him in for a reward.

The fox tried to tell herself that it wasn't her fault. The last four years of her life. She still tried to tell herself, that it wasn't her fault. But she didn't have it in her heart anymore to blame Fox.

She took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. The canopy slowly fogged, from her breath, before quickly disappearing. Krystal gripped the controls with both paws tightly, and swayed them back and forth, pulling on the triggers. She felt comfortable with the ship. She knew that this would be her best ride back to Corneria. All the navigation systems worked, weapon locks worked. The Arwing II was the superior machine, when everything worked, but without astrogation systems there would be no way to find her way back to Corneria. It would be suicide.

"_Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech_!"

The fox's fur stood on end. Her ears perked up, and flickered. All she could hear was her heart beating, pounding blood in her ears. Her eyes searched the forest around her. Nothing moved through the foliage. The vixen slowly let her paws off the controls, and put her paws down to her lap. She searched the woods with her mind. Her telepathic sense examined the woods of Sauria. There were too many creatures though. Too many life forms. Hunters were especially hard to detect. Anything with a trained mind. A Slayer. She remained frozen in her seat. Her eyes searched through the forest.

Krystal reached for the canopy release. She put her paw on the release, wrapping her claw tips around it. From the periphery of her vision, she spotted something. It was approaching from behind her. Slowly. A massive scaly head emerged from the behind her ship. It was huge. Two gleaming rows of teeth shone bright white. Teeth that could swallow her whole, or destroy her ship, each one dripping in saliva. Krystal didn't move her head. She just watched it with her eyes. The only thing that separated her from razor sharp teeth was a thin layer of tempered shock-glass.

She slowly turned her head, looking into the eye of the beast. The blood red eye. The Redeye breathed heavily, and slowly. She couldn't tell if the monster saw her or not. If it didn't, it was looking for her. The beast smelled the ship, nuzzling the side of it with its snout. The entire shuttle rocked, and it pushed the nose to the side, grinding the landing gears into the soil, causing the ship to tip onto its side, with only a wing catching her.

She could sense its power. It was looking for her. She could sense what was going through the predators head. It was hungry. Which made her the prey. Krystal knew that though it could not see her. It could smell her. It was only a matter of time now until she was found. Firing the engines would take too long. It would jump the ship before she could take off, and rip it apart.

The RedEye encircled the ship. Each step was an earth-quake around her. Its twenty foot tail swung, hitting the fighter. The Redeye approached the ship. It looked at her with both eyes. It's massive nostrils flared, and it breathed down on the canopy, fogging the glass. It pressed its muzzle on the glass, pushing the ship backward. A hairline crack ran up the canopy, as the ship came to an abrupt stop in the soil, as the engines slammed into the tree behind her.

She could hear the glass creak, making her heart race, and tail stand straight up. Krystal bit her lip hard. A thousand scenarios running through her head at once, but as the RedEye backed off. She had to act, and she acted. Slowly. The vixen pulled the release on the canopy. It hissed sharply, and slowly inched open. The Redeye turned its head sharply, staring at the ship, as the canopy slid open.

"_Schrrreeccch!_" The RedEye roared again, and stomped toward the Cloudrunner.

Krystal's hair stood on end. She leaped out of the way, tucking her staff into her chest, rolling across the ground. The Redeye attacked. Not her though. It jumped the ship, taking it in its massive jaws, stripping paint off the hull. The glass canopy shattered, and hull bent under the might of its jaws. Krystal stumbled across the ground, clawing her way through the dirt.

Though she couldn't see the monster, she knew soon it would find out that she wasn't in there. The vixen peaked over her shoulder, looking back at the rex. It was searching through the carcass of the ship. She could hear something else though. Not the Redeye. It was something in the sky. Her ears flickered, and she watched the beast turn his eyes to the sky. She wasn't the only one who heard it. A far off rumbling, that rolled through the forest that slowly grew louder, and louder. It sounded like thunder.

"A ship." Krystal growled through grit teeth, in a whisper. "A ship here?"

The rumbling only grew louder, and before long, she could hear it accompanied by a high pitch whistle. The whistle of a black-matter turbine filled her ears. She looked to the sky, struggling to the see the source. She could only see quick flashes of the ship through the thick foliage. It flashed over, making a low pass. The treetops shuttered, and her chest vibrated. The thundering was so loud, she had to cover her ears, and close her eyes, until the ship's engines disappeared over the next hill.

Krystal quickly looked back over her shoulder. The RedEye too looked to the ship above. It leaned toward the ground, and roared to the sky. The creature hesitated. It looked down at the crippled Cloudrunner, and then back to the sky once more. With one circle around the Cloudrunner, it stomped off into the woods, weary of the ship that over watched it.

Krystal sighed heavily. She let her body slowly go limp. The vixen slowly slid her back down the tree, settling in the dirt. Her heels dug through the soil, making ruts in the ground. She let her staff rest across her lap.

The little blue fox smiled to herself. She looked to the sky. "Well, at least that takes care of one of my problems_… A Slayer… it has to be_."

* * *

X

* * *

Syxx yawned, and smacked his mouth as he woke up. His eyes slowly fluttered half open, and he moaned softly, irritated. The pneumatic glass door that kept him detained, slowly swung open. Two hounds dressed in black security uniforms approached him. Each one had a Blaster as their side arm. Syxx noticed two more Marines on the outside of the cell. Both carried heavy rifles. They quickly grew to know Syxx, and his tricks. The black fox had been _tazed_ three times already; twice of which on the same occasion. He was also shot at two times, while he was here. As a Spec Ops soldier, he was used to being shot at. The Taser was hell though.

One of the dogs held a key. The key for his plasma cuffs. "No tricks today." He said. "Alright?"

Syxx growled. "That's up to you."

He revealed the Taser on his belt. "No it's not."

Syxx smiled and remained silent as one cuff after the other was cut. After the second one was cut, he took a sharp step forward. Both of the Marines, outside the cell, put their fingers on the triggers, and lifted the muzzles of their rifles, ever so slightly. Syxx watched, as their grip tightened, and they stood uneasily, but at the ready.

"You've got one hour." The guard turned his back, and walked away. "Expect company."

Syxx's ears were not listening though. He watched the Taser on the belt of the guard, as he stepped toward the exit, but he took a quick glace up toward the Marines on the outside. One gently shook his head at Syxx, noticing what he was up to. The vulpine couldn't help but smirk back at him, resisting the urge to grab the weapon from the belt of the guard, but as the door shut behind the guards he missed his chance. He was sealed within the cell once again.

The two Marines on the outside didn't leave though. They stayed, standing at attention, with their rifles each on their shoulders.

Syxx stepped up to the glass. He cocked his head at the soldiers. "Ya' know I'm not a child. I don't require supervision."

He never got an answer from the hounds though. They just stood there. Syxx sized them up, his gaze drifting back and forth between their eyes. The fox made a sudden sharp movement. He flinched his entire body, and slammed his paw into the glass door, making it _boom_ loudly. One Marine nearly jumped out of his fur, and the other one took a step back. Syxx walked back into his cell, and chuckled. He sat down in the chair, and put his bare feet up on the table. He leaned back in his seat, tipping himself back on two of the chairs legs. And with his paws behind his head, he closed his eyes, and relaxed.

"At-ease Marines." An old, yet commanding voice echoed down the hallway.

Syxx's eyes shot open, and he got up from his seat. Syxx approached the glass, throwing his head back. "Oh- here we go." He let his head down on the glass door, rumbling the barrier.

A short figure emerged from around the corner, wearing a white jacket, and black boots. One of his two long ears was folded down halfway and grey fur covered him from head to toe, especially becoming silver around his muzzle. Peppy turned to him, looking up toward the warrior. He cleared his throat, about to speak, but the vulpine cut him off.

"It's come to this, has it?" Syxx grinned, holding his forehead against the glass, with one paw next to it.

"I think that's the first time, I've ever heard you talk."

He just smiled back, evilly.

"I'm trying to save a civilization. And you're being less than helpful."

"Why give them hope, when there is none?"

Peppy scratched his chin. "About ten years ago, I was a part of an elite squad of pilots. We went to a planet. Venom. Something went wrong. We were betrayed by one of our own. I got out alive, but our leader was taken by the assault. That was when the war started. When Andross invaded the system. I thought we had no hope. Until Fox McCloud showed us the way. Fox taught me that. He taught me that there's always hope."

"James was naïve in trusting Pigma."

Peppy paused. "You know all this?"

Syxx laughed in a deep huff. "I too grew up alone. I never knew my mother… my father. From a very young age, I was on my own. Both were murdered. There is no justice for that. There is no justice. The sooner you learn that, the sooner you can accept that your race is doomed to extinction."

"And your race as well!" the hare snapped back.

"The Slayers were sentenced to damnation at birth."

Peppy paused. "You murdered millions. Everyone left here has had their families destroyed. Love's lost."

"Then they can finally feel the pain I've been living. But redemption is no justice."

"You know… you and Fox are a lot alike. He grew up the same way. No mother. No father. I raised him."

"And how did you relate to Fox in his final days?"

The conversation was broken. All was silent. Peppy stared at him, before binding his teeth, and turning his gaze toward his boots.

Syxx continued. "You were promoted to head of the Cornerian Army. Where did Fox sit? Did Fox have anyone to look to in his final days? Or did he die in the skies alone, just like his father?"

"I did everything I could for Fox." He answered.

Syxx swiftly punched the shock glass. The frame rattled violently. "LIAR!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Peppy jumped backward. He held a paw to his chest, slowly catching his breath.

Syxx began pacing back and forth at the front of his cell. "I have given these people hope a thousand times over! I have been taken for granted! Abused! Only I have the power to give them hope, and I can take it away just as easy."

Syxx's knuckled bled. Red liquid dripped over his fur, as a red splatter appeared on the glass. When he pulled his paw away, it dripped onto the floor. He never gave it a second thought though. The fox didn't even look down as his severally damaged paw. He ignored the pain. Just like he was taught. He was immune to physical pain.

"I know everything about you Peppy Hare, how you took Fox under your wing after both his parents were murdered by Andross, and how he became the slave of the system." Syxx stared at the hare as he tried to catch his breath after the scare.

Peppy cleared his throat. "Fox was doomed the moment he broke up StarFox." Peppy glanced up. The expression on the black fox's face immediately changed from anger to what he could only read as confusion, or sympathy. It was the first real emotion other than anger and rage that he had ever seen on the fox's face, or ever observed of a Slayer.

Syxx's heart stopped in his chest. His eyes glanced around the room. "Explain." He spoke firmly.

"Fox was the one who pushed us away. Not the other way around. When he broke up StarFox, he hurt us all. From then on, he was different. He wasn't like he used to be. He shut himself out from the world. Falco, and myself could handle it. But…" Peppy paused, adjusting his glasses. "Slippy, and Krystal never coped as well… especially Krystal. Krystal? The one who brought you here. I said earlier that you and Fox had so much in common, and maybe that's why she takes a special interest in you."

A thump resonated through the glass of the cell, making Peppy jump. Syxx pressed his head, and nose onto the glass, as he listened intently. His breath fogged the door, as he panted through his nostrils. The fox had never heard this before. He hadn't talked to Peppy in years.

The old hare continued. "Fox was stubborn. But we all loved him, and no matter what, he could never understand that. He could never understand that removing Krystal from the team was no way of protecting her. Krystal needed him more than anything else in the world. Fox couldn't get that though. And the part that kills me the most is that I know she still needs him. She still has no one. I know that she knows it. But I don't know what to do with her! Heck, this entire system needs Fox."

Peppy stood in a moment of silence. Syxx quickly turned his head away and stepped back into his cell.

General Hare once again cleared his throat. "Why do you have so much interest in Fox McCloud?"

"Why do you continue to tell me about him? Is none of this classified, personal material?"

"I tell you because I still hope. I still hope that there's still a shred of decency. A shred of humanity left in your body. Stories of StarFox always instill hope. That's what we need more than anything."

Syxx closed his eyes in solace. "You're getting old, and you won't be able to keep their hope for much longer. And at what point will you accept that you have lost them? What will happen than?"

Peppy lifted his glasses, stalling, giving him a moment to think. "I don't know what will happen. I can guarantee you this though… you'll be the first to find out."

"You think this is over? The gathering of boys I rely on know exactly who they are, and I have built their protection with bloody hands. As for Fox… some were dealt knuckles, and some were delivered kisses, but initially, his heart was in the right place. Killing me will not end this war, just as Fox's accidental death-"

Peppy cut him off. "Fox's death was no accident."

"Than what was it?" Syxx quickly asked back.

Peppy just continued to stare at the Fox. Nothing was said between them. Tension continued to build as Syxx continued poking his nose where it didn't belong… or so Peppy thought. Peppy never knew that Syxx was the key holder in the conversation. He had more right to be there than the hare ever knew.

"I'm glad you understand that." Syxx continued. He stepped toward the back of the cell, before circling back around to the front. "You and I may be the only ones in the entire Lylat System that do."

"Fox was a good kid." Peppy snapped back. "You knew him, didn't you? I remember you now. You were at his funeral. The police came and took you in the middle of the service. Did you…?" A shocked look came over Peppy's face, as he trailed off.

Syxx knew exactly what he was thinking, and smiled. "No. I didn't kill him."

"But you did know him?"

Syxx bit the inside of his lip. "Maybe Fox and I are more alike than I thought. I realize I think this way out of neglection, perhaps he, the same."

"Why did you attend Fox's funeral?" Peppy paused. "Obviously you have no respect for him."

"Fox, was the last of the McCloud era. The last hero. There was no one to take his place. Heroes are a dying breed Peppy. You of anyone should know that by the state we're in now. With Fox out of the picture, there's no one to stop corruption."

"There was StarFalco."

Syxx laughed. "StarFalco! They're credibility died with _Mac_! The only original member _was_ Falco, and he is no leader!"

"You know, you may be right about some things Syxx. You may be right about a lot of things. But you're wrong about one thing."

"Oh really? And what might this one thing be, _General_?"

"Fox is not the last of the McCloud era. There's still one more. One more who can give us hope."

"And what is his name?" Syxx raised an eyebrow.

"_Her_ name is Krystal." He paused. "And she will redeem us. She believes that she can redeem you too. I think it's too late for you, but it's never too late for the rest of us."

"Then we agree and disagree on different things."

"What do you mean? You believe there is hope?"

"No." Syxx said simply. "I believe that your system is doomed. This is where we disagree. But where we do agree, is that I am doomed. But someone will take my place, and if _Mac_ and I are as similar are you say we are? I will rest in hell, beside your beloved Fox McCloud."

"That's a horrible thing to say."

"There's no room in heaven for the damned, and if me and Fox are as similar as you think. We'll be going to the same place."

"And I'll be the one to send you there." Peppy said back, glaring at him.

"No." Syxx shook his head. "Only I decide my own fate, and I've a feeling I don't have much time left here. When I leave, I'll be doing it on my own accord."


	22. Stranded

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul**  
**XXII**  
**Stranded**  
_SyxxFox_

_I can't explain why everything,  
Keeps getting worse without a change,  
Beside myself I'm telling me,  
To play through this long losing streak,  
I'm waiting for news,_

_I'm all ears,  
Can someone please tell me why I'm still here,  
All these years,  
There must be some good news waiting,  
_

**All the Brightness - _"Waiting"_**

* * *

The nights grew colder and colder, as winter neared on Planet Corneria. The two Cornerian Militants wondered how they would survive the winter. No heat. A dwindling supply of food and water, and no hope to live by. There were only ever speculations as to what a photon-winter would bring. There were no definite answers, but if they didn't find a way to off this planet soon, they would truly know what has only been thought of.

The radio on the counter flickered and clicked loudly. Ramirez took a short glance up at it stopping what he was doing, freezing in his seat with his boots up on the table. His ears flickered, and his ringed tail wagged back and forth for a short moment, hoping for good news, and for that matter, hoping for any news. After listening and waiting for a few more moments it once again went silent, matching the rest of the city.

A man stepped up the stairs, resting his arms over the railing, with a pistol in his paw. "Anything?" he asked.

The raccoon, planted the butt of his rifle on the floor next to him, holding his paw onto the barrel. "It's been on and off for the past hour or so. Nothing new though. Nobody has been able to get through. Only law enforcement, and military know the emergency broadcast frequency. I don't know what that tells us though. It was a miracle we could save anything from the EMP. If anyone else did, they either knew it was coming or they were lucky to have it stored safely. Not even the military would have seen this one coming. Not until it was too late."

"Not even from the military Complex then eh?"

The raccoon shrugged. "They know we're here, but let's leave it at that. I don't think they have any intension on rescuing us or any of the refugees at the police compound."

The hound took a seat. "What else can they do? They think this entire city is run by militias now. And they're not wrong."

Ramirez put his elbows on the tables and rested his head in his paws. "I can't explain why everything keeps getting worse without a change. But there must be some good news waiting."

"From the military?"

"Sounds like they aren't having a problem holding their own. Got the entire facility up and running again. Guns, ammo. They got it all. A little safe haven."

"Which leaves us with what?"

They hung in a moment of silence for a moment. Before the radio began to crackle. Ramirez jumped up from his seat. "Hey! Check this out though!" He put his paw on one of the many dials of the radio. "Somehow, I'm linking through the Complex's signals, and I'm getting radio chatter from the front lines on Katina. We can listen to every single the move the military makes on Katina. Listen to this."

The radio crackled, and hissed on the table, as Ramirez tried to tune it in properly, and before long the chatter came through.

X

_Echo: "Sceptre zero-one, requesting fire support!"_

_Sceptre: "Roger that Echo. Relay coordinates."_

_Echo: "Commence air support North of blue smoke! Repeat do not engage blue smoke__ or the village! We are still evacing civilians!"_

_Sceptre: "Copy that Fire-Team Echo. Engaging all targets North of the blue smoke. That is danger-close. Keep your heads down."_

_Echo: "Roger that Sceptre! T__hey're set up! Knock 'em down__!"_

_Sceptre: "Copy that, delivering."_

_Baseplate: "Fire-Team Echo, you have friendly birds in the air carrying backup. Freons are escorting for fire support, and will be on station in five-mikes."_

_Echo: "Negative Baseplate! Not soon enough! The LZ is hot! Wave off! I say again! Wave off!"_

_Baseplate: "Copy Echo__. We're diverting air support to another nearby village__. Status."_

_Echo: "The last civilian transport is away. The settlement is clear of all civilians. We are falling back."_

_Baseplate: "__Negative Echo__.__ Hold the settlement for as long as you can."_

_Echo: "Not possible! We are outnumbered and outgunned! __Sceptre__ zero-one, level the settlement!__ It's infested with hatchers!"_

_Sceptre: "Uh- Baseplate?"_

_Baseplate: "Echo, confirm that all civilian and military personal are clear of the settlement."_

_Echo: "We are clear of the settlement! You are clear to engage the blue smoke!__"_

_Sceptre: "Sceptre copies all. Delivering."_

_Baseplate: "Echo report."_

_Echo: "We're on the retreat Boss-Man! This AO is lost!"_

X

Ramirez quickly shut off the radio. "Of course. It's not all happy news."

Jim Felan Nodded gently. "You ever think that we could have done things differently?"

"What do ya' mean?"

"Well, what if someone else ran Project Slayer? I mean, would it have been any different? Or... Were they already doomed?"

The raccoon scratched his chin. "You're not trying to blame this on us are you? This is the work of a single man. Sixty-Six."

"I always wonder what his back story is." He shrugged. "But I guess we'll never know. Hey Paul, who was your favorite Slayer to work with?"

"Well, as much as i hate to say it. I loved working with Pyro." He smiled. "That guy was always forgetting stuff, and I always thought when I sent him out the door, that there was no way that he was coming back this time. And every single time, he came home. He comes off as an idiot, but he's extremely resourceful. What about you? You had a favorite Slayer?"

The German Sheppard shook his head. "Nah. I actually enjoyed working with Syxx though. Because I never knew what he was going to do next. He always thought outside the box, and he always got the job done. Weaver on the other hand scared the h-ll out of me."

"Oh yeah? What was so bad about her?"

His eyes went wide. "You're telling me, that you never had a problem with that one?"

The coon laughed. "No, can't say that I have. She was just, one of the Slayers to me."

"Are you kidding me! She was a crazy b-tch!"

"Haha! She just must'a liked you then! For me, she fell into the ones that I always forget. Her, Kyla, Royce..."

"I think Kyla is more of the strong-silent type. I never really heard her talk, unless she was talking to Syxx. I don't remember ever actually talking to her."

"Yeah, I didn't much either. Man, she is a f-ck-ng dead shot though. Sh-t man. I've never seen anyone shoot like that before."

"And you know what's neat about her?"

"What's that?" Paul asked.

"She was never afraid to stand up to Syxx."

The raccoon nodded. "She was the only one who I ever saw challenge him. You got that right. But I think she can whoop his tail in CQC. But I could be wrong. That black fox was getting deadly with the Night Knife. I saw him toss that thing in combat training. He could hit anything with it."

Felan set a can on the table. He spun the can opener around the edge and dug into the cold meal with a spoon. He leaned back in his chair. "You ever wondered who would have come out on top if the Slayers went at it?"

Paul set the rifle down flat on the table. "What the hell is up with all the rhetorical questions?"

Jim scraped at the can. "Fine. What do you want to do?"

The coon chuckled and went back to cleaning the rifle. "I'd say either Syxx or Reaver. One of the two."

"What? Really?"

"Why who would you have said?"

Jim thought for a moment. "I would have gone with Kyla."

"Yeah, she could fight, and she had top marksmanship. Having said that, she wasn't top mind. Not to say that she wasn't smart, she sure was, but Syxx and Reaver were far more tactical. And Kyla was one of the few Slayers that had morals. That's what's keeping her from the top. And in addition to that, Syxx and Reaver are far more assault driven. I've seen them do some crazy stuff. I've seen Syxx lob grenades while flipping around a corner."

"Well, they're all tough. I never-ever want to meet one again. That's for sure."

They hung in the silence for a moment, reminiscing about Project Slayer

"Try the PD again.". Felan said.

The raccoon let out a long sigh. "I don't think that-"

"Just do it, raccoon."

The raccoon gave him a small smile, and shook his head, reaching for the radio. "Ramirez to CCPD. Do you copy?"

The response came in quickly. "This is Corneria City Police Shelter. Send message, over."

"How you kids holding up over there?"

The radio crackled. "Had better days."

"Status."

"We're beginning to get low on rations… ammunition. We've still got a fresh supply of water from the stations well, and it remains uncontaminated for now. The militias have left us alone for the past week or so, we're expecting another attack any day now. We could really use some help out here. We've got sick, and wounded. Have you guys heard anything from the military lately?"

Felan and Ramirez look at each other, before the raccoon replied. "Hold out a little longer guys. It sounds like something is in the brew. Ramirez out."

"You lied to them." The hound glared at the smaller coon.

"I gave them hope."

He shook his head. "No- I… I would have done the same thing. But we have to do something, because you and I both know, that no help is coming our way. Not anytime soon."

"_Pft_- We have to do something? We're doing all that we can. We are giving them hope. What else can we do?"

The hound let out a large sigh, stalling for a moment. "We have the suit."

The raccoon laughed. "We barely know how to use that thing! You could barely get here just walking in it. Who knows how long It'll take us to learn how to control that thing, if it doesn't kill us first!"

"You remember Syxx."

"Dumb question." Ramierz growled.

"Let me finish. Syxx learned how to use that suit in ten minutes. He was bouncing off walls, and tossing Slayers around the next day!" He took a long pause, tapping his paws over the table. "You're not afraid of that armor, you're afraid of-"

"Damn rights! I'm afraid if the military spots us either in, or with that thing! If they decide to come rolling through here, and they catch us with the Vortec, they're not going to ask questions! They see that thing, they're just gonna' shoot. They're gonna think we're Slayers."

"How many firefights have we had here in the past month? How do you think the outside of the house is holding up? Even if we can't help those people out there, we're going to have to make repairs sooner or later! We'll have to get food, water… weapons. There's probably a ton of them out there by now."

"If someone hasn't scavenged them first."

"We have to take a chance at some point."

"No we don't. If we do grab weapons out there, they're all going to be old hunting rifles, shotguns. All obsolete stuff."

Felan huffed in a laugh. "Really? You think that matters at this point?"

The raccoon bared his fangs, and turned his head quickly breaking eye contact with the hound.

"Look Ramirez. I'm not happy about it either, but you turned your house into a fortress. You knew that this was going to happen. We can't hold out here forever with what we have in this house. Sooner or later, we are going to need to make a move. You and I are going to have to figure out how we're going to get our tails off this planet. Whether you like it or not, this planet is lost. Corneria has fallen, and there is nothing left for us here."

Ramirez put his paw over his muzzle scratching it lightly. "It ain't gonna be me running that armor, I'll tell you that much."

The dog smiled. "No one asked you to. I'll do all the hard work."

"You can start by carrying it up the stairs."

With that Jim Felan got up from his seat, and walked down the stairs.

Ramirez huffed to himself in a short pant of a laugh, and shook his head. Going to back to cleaning the plasma rifle.

Felan headed down the stairs of the house, which led down into the dark living room. It was midday, but all the windows had steel shutters welded over them, leaving the house completely dark, except for the few candles that lit the stairways, and halls. As he stepped through the house, he grabbed a candle from off a shelf. The hot wax spilled over his paw, but he ignored it, as he held up the candle above his head, making his way down into the cellar.

As he opened the door, he watched the staircase descend into the darkness of the basement, making him swallow hard. The house was modern, except for the basement which was completely unrenovated, and completely unfinished. The steps were old hardwood that creaked with every single footing that he took, giving him and ominous feeling in his stomach as he walked down into the darkness of the cellar.

The dog could see all sorts of boxes, with labels on them. Lots of canned goods, and military packaged rations, batteries, fuel. All that they still had left to live on. In the back corner, leaned up against the wall, there was a tall box, a black military cargo box.

He brushed all the dust off the box, rubbing his paw across the cargo container. The box read: _Cornerian Military_ and just below it in smaller letters. _Do not open under any circumstance_.

The hound let out a long, and heavy sigh, hesitating for a moment, reconsidering. Then, without using any caution he tipped over the crate, letting it smash on the cement floor. He picked it up by the handle at the front. There was no way that he would be able to carry it up the stairs. The suit was nearly too heavy for both of them to carry. The large hound drug the crate up the stairs, step by step in complete darkness, feeling his way around the house.

When he tired out just near the top floor, where Ramirez was sitting, he took a seat at the top step, while holding onto the handle of the long box, so it wouldn't slide all the way back down to the main floor.

He panted, trying to catch his breath. "You know, you could have given me a hand with this damn thing!"

The raccoon just sat at the table silently. The rifle fell from his lap onto the floor, crashing onto the carpet. There was complete silence as he held the radio up to his ear.

Felan ignored him. He continued pulling the cargo container up the stairs. When he finally got it up the stairs, he pushed it onto its side, and leaned it against the wall. His paws made quick work of the locks, snapping each one open, one by one. The case swung open from the hinge, and inside in all its glory was the Slayers Vortec armoring. The hound looked over the armoring altogether. It was disassembled, and there was no way that he could put it on alone. It took a mechanic to put all the armoring on, but he and the raccoon were familiar enough with it, to know how to put it together.

He took the helmet out of the casing, and rubbed his paw over the silver visor, watching himself in the mirror. "So you gonna help me get outfitted, or what?"

The raccoon hissed at him. "Shut-up for a second!"

Jim raised an eyebrow, as he began to feel concerned. "What happened?"

Ramirez shook his head slowly, looking at the floor, holding the radio down at his side. He spun the chair around, looking toward the German Sheppard with a confused, concerned look. "They… They caught Syxx."


	23. The Ghost

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul**  
**XXIII  
The Ghost  
**_SyxxFox_

_"Don't want to let it leave me,  
'Cause no one would believe me,  
'Cause no one would believe I'd ever know,_

_Don't forget about everything,_  
_Try to keep on remembering,_  
_If it never meant anything,_  
_That's part of remembering."_

**2nd Half - _"Remembering"_**

* * *

She knew that she wouldn't make it back to the hollow before nightfall, and with the RedEye roaming the forest, she knew that she didn't want to get stuck between Cape Claw, and ThornTail Hollow at night. She opted to stay at LightFoot Village. It was well protected by tall walls, and thick, dense forest on all sides. Not to say that it was impossible for a T-rex to get inside… just extremely difficult. However, being engulfed by tall walls, were the only signs of safety she knew.

There were many houses there too. Many of which were either on the waterfront, or built over the river, on tall beams that supported the homes. They were a very resourceful tribe. They didn't just live, they often thrived.

Her eyes fluttered open in the morning light. Her vision was fuzzy, and she couldn't tell what she was looking at, but it was on top of her, looking down into her eyes. When she realized what was happening to her, she gasped, and jumped up, setting in her bed, wide eyed.

"Ahhh!" The creature screamed and leaped from the bed. In ran in circles around the room, with two other ones that looked exactly like it.

"Hey! Get out of here you stinkin' kids!" A Lightfoot stood at the door to the hut, as three children ran past her feet, and in between her legs, heading out the door, and across the bridge. The older female turned around, shaking her fists at the kids as they laughed, and disappeared into the water.

"Yeah you bed'er run!" The woman screamed. She then turned around to see Krystal, sitting up in her bed, smiling, letting out a big fanged grin. "I'm sorry miss Krystal. I baby sit those kids for their mother. She lives on the other side of the village." She rambled on. "But now, they're here every day, always messing up my house, and eating my food! I hope they didn't wake you."

Krystal smiled at her. "Where're my clothes?" She asked, pulling the blanket up further on her chest, realizing that she was only wearing her underwear.

"Oh! Yep!"

The lady turned around, and grabbed a basket that was sitting just outside the door, on the balcony. She brought it inside, setting it down beside the bed. "I go down to the river, and I wash them for you! Then sun here gets really hot in the morning. They should almost be dry now."

Krystal grinned at the old lady. Her face lit up. "Thank you."

"Mmhp." The dino nodded. "Or they would'a been if it weren't for those kids. I was going to put them down right inside here at let you sleep, if it weren't for those rotten children. It looked like you were sleeping well! Like you haven't slept in long time!"

"My clothes are dry?" Krystal yawned.

"Yeah!" She snapped back.

"Well what time is it?"

The dino put out a hand, and dropped her jaw. "I uhhhhh… we don't keep time. Only days."

Krystal shook her head. "Of course." She peered out the window. She could only see the blue sky, no sun. "How long has Sol been up for?"

"Four… Five hour?"

"What!" Krystal jumped out of bed, holding the blankets around her body. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I knew you had big day ahead! I could see it in your eyes when you come last night. You need rest. Now you have it." She paused. "Ogh! Also I put water and food in the basket. Go, go! Eat! Drink! A young girl like you need to keep strong! Strong to keep away the evil spirt!"

Krystal sat down on the bed, with the blanket around her shoulder. She smiled. She actually felt appreciated here. She wished she had come to village when she had arrived on the planet, when she lived here for the number of months.

"Yeah!" She spun on her large dino feet. "I come back in a few minutes, and make sure that you got everything that you need for your big day." With that, she ran out of the hut, closing the curtain behind her.

Even after a few moments, Krystal could still hear the woman. "Hey you little stinkers! You cut that out anyway! And bring that thing back here right now! It's really important! I'm going to your _mod'ers _right now, if you don't get back here!"

She listened to the small dino children scream at the threat. Krystal grinned and shook her head. She looked down at the wicker basket. Her black and blue flight suit was folded neatly, resting over the side of the basket. In the center there was a large clay bowl, filled with fresh drinking water. Beside the bowl, there were assorted fruits and berries, of all sorts of sizes, and colors, mixed with some nuts at the bottom.

She quickly got dressed in her flight uniform. She reached under the bed, and grabbed her sandals. Her boots were left in the Arwing. Though she did look strange in a uniform wearing sandals, it felt good to feel the air, and crunch of grass in her toes. She put the belt around her waist. Krystal pulled the Blaster out, and checked the weapon, before sliding it back into its holster, and clipping the leather strap over it, that held it to the case.

The fox reached under the bed. Her paw tapped around the wooden floor. She didn't find what she was looking for though. Krystal stood up from the bed, and leaned over onto the floor. "What the…?" She looked under the bed, but her staff was gone.

She spun around at jumped, as she heard the curtain _whoosh_ open. She smiled, catching her breath, grinning and wagging her tail. "Had me worried there for a moment."

The LightFoot handed Krystal the staff. "I told you! Wasn't I telling you? Those little sneaks get into everything around here!" The LightFoot returned the Staff to Krystal.

"Thank you so much."

"Mhp. You're welcome. Ugh! You haven't eaten." The light foot hopped into the hut, and grabbed the basket, putting it under her arm. "You come now! Come! Come with me! Come outside!" She grabbed Krystal's hand with her other arm.

Krystal graciously followed her out onto the balcony. She covered her eyes, as the sun shone into them. The tribal woman sat her down on a stump that she had outside, and put the basket on another. Krystal looked over the village. It was so beautiful. A river flowed around the village and beneath the huts, where the LightFoot resided.

Krystal lifted the bowl to her mouth with both paws, closing her eyes. She enjoyed the fresh clean taste of the pure Saurian water. She dug her fangs into the fruit. Juices squirted out from the sweet fruit, and the nectar dripped down her chin, making her smile. She ate nearly everything. Food had never tasted so good.

"I hate to run off," Krystal stood up. "But I've got a lot of ground to cover today."

"Ogh! You wait!" The dino pulled out a cloth. She placed some of the berries, and nuts into the middle. She than folded the cloth over itself, and tied all four corners together at the top. "You take this with you." She handed Krystal the satchel.

"Thank you so very much miss."

The tribal woman walked with Krystal to the gates.

"_Mgh_. You're welcome. I hope you find what you seek. Remember what I said about the evil spirits." She patted Krystal on the shoulder. "You keep strong now. Take some time to think about yourself. Not _od'ders_!"

"But… its others that made me who I am."

"And it is selfish to be selfless, miss Krystal. You take time as you need it. Sleep. Eat. Rest. The world can wait. Don't forget about everything. Try to keep on remembering. Even if it never meant anything."

"I don't want to let it leave me, because no one would believe I'd ever know."

"It's all part of remembering."

Krystal grinned. "Thank you again. For everything."

"No. Thank you. You are welcome in our village anytime! You are honorary member of tribe now. Just like Fox."

With that the gate closed, shutting her outside the village, and the woman retreated back into it.

She enjoyed her walk back to the Hollow. She didn't care if there were RedEye. She enjoyed the fresh air, but that was all broken in the matter of a few moments. The rolling sound of thunder returned, without a cloud in the sky. The fighter was back once again. It would come and go, but she chose to remain hidden, hoping that it would soon forget about her, and stop looking. But after a night, it still searched the planet. It must have seen her enter the atmosphere of the planet, and without her guidance systems, there'd be no way she could've known that she was being followed.

As she entered the hollowed, a Thorntail waddled up to her. "Did you hear it?"

"Yes. I've been listening to it for over a day now." Krystal asked.

"The ship is encircling the hollow. Everyone here is worried."

Krystal's ear flickered. She looked up into the sky, see didn't see anything, she thought she heard thunder, but there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. The sound went away, Krystal turned on her heels, and the heavy thunder soon returned, louder than before. It came and went for about a minute, before it returned stronger than ever.

The Thorntail now looked at the sky, before they both met gazes. "Expecting someone?" He asked.

A ship flashed from overhead. She watched it fly right over them. A silver underbelly was all she could identify as it silhouetted against Sol. It made a low thundering pass, seaming like it was moving too slow. It was on recon. She couldn't tell what the ship was, but she could see payload under the wings. A fighter of some kind. Maybe a Slayer had followed her here. She covered her ears, as the air around her vibrated. "Not likely." She grit her teeth, baring her fangs as she watch the silhouette of the fighter turn against the sun once more. "I have to go."

"Wait! Don't leave us!" The dino moaned.

The vixen turned tail, quickly scaling the staggered cliff, into the trees where she had come from. Her eyes darted through the tree tops, as she tried to track the ship through the foliage. The thunderous sound grew louder by the second, before it gentled to a high pitch whine. Krystal put her back to a tree, as the fighter hovered above the hollow. It rotated in the air, as if it was looking for her, but she knew that there was no way it could have spotted her while she was in the trees. She was unsure if the Slayers still resided on this planet. Even though the Thorntail said they had left. If a Slayer had detected her coming in, then they would be looking for her.

Krystal mashed the button on her staff, and it quickly folded in on its self, with a sharp metallic slice. She tucked the staff through the holster, removing her Blaster. She stared at the blue fighter land in the hollow. It wasn't a Slayer, and that made her even more nervous. The trees shook, and the grass crouched against the ground. The landing gear of the blue fighter lowered. Krystal's eyebrow rose. The blue ship looked old; many of the blue flares had large steel patches across the hull, clearly welded on. An amateur fix. Long scratches scored the clear canopy. The ship greatly resembled an Arwing, one she swore that she had seen before. Fox's early Arwing looked like that, before he traded them in for new models. She had yet to come to the conclusion that it was an Arwing I.

"_Who else would be here? StarWolf? They don't fly ships like that."_

As the ship came to rest on the ground, all was silent as the engines wound down. The Thorntails around the hollow all stared at the ship. Some approached the vessel, but it was too far away for Krystal to see who was inside of it as the canopy slowly opened. Krystal peeked out from around the tree. She could see a figure standing on top of the ship. She made out very little detail, and was unable to tell who piloted the damaged ship.

The dinosaurs wearily approached the ship, their heads lowered toward the figure, as if ready to charge the ship. Suddenly, one of the Thorntails reared up, standing on its back legs alone. It waved its tail with irritation, before it slammed its front legs back down into the soil. The ground all around the hollow rumbled, before another Thorntail near the ship let out a might roar, swinging its head and tail, back and forth.

Krystal reacted. She jumped off the cliffs, and rolled across her side, tucking her tail inward as she rolled across the ground. She recovered, quickly coming to her feet, and holding the weapon out in front of her. She darted toward a rock that was near the ship, and took cover behind it, planting her back firmly against the stone. She held the Blaster close to her muzzle, peaking around the boulder. She could see two feet from underneath the fighter, clad in brown leather boots.

Krystal rolled her shoulder around the rock, bringing the pistol up, letting it click sharply as it was armed. She looked down the advanced iron sights of the Blaster, putting the target just over the silver hull of the beat up fighter. She walked quickly, while stared down the sights. Her eyes darted around the fighter, when on the flare of the wing, she spotted a familiar red symbol, but she disregarded it for the moment, focusing on her task. The little fox slowly moved around the fighter. She flicked the safety of the weapon off with a skim of one thumb, and a swift click, went through the air.

She was presented with a fox-man wielding an old weapon with a wooden stock, holding it at his hip toward the approaching Thorntails. He slowly backed up, as the muzzle of the weapon roved around the three dinos. His back hit the fighter, and he glanced back at it. The red furred man froze for a moment, before his left paw reached forward on the gun, and pulled the weapon into his chest. He fired the weapon straight into the air. It let out a mighty blast, and a puff of smoke.

The shot made Krystal flinch, and place her finger over the trigger, pulling it halfway in. Her ears rang from the loud shot. The Thorntails roared, approaching the man even closer. The red fox slide the pump on the gun back and forth quickly. The weapon's slide slashed with two swift metallic clicks. A round red cylinder flipped out of the chamber, and bounced to Krystal's feet. The red plastic shell was still smoking when it landed just in front of Krystal. It had a pungent, burnt, aroma to it. She had seen a weapon like that before only once. Peppy had one hanging in his office. Wooden stock, and a black barrel.

The red vulpine then pointed his weapon into the heard, and placed his finger back into the trigger guard.

"Alright! That'll be quite enough!" Krystal barked. Her ears lowered into her hair, and her teeth were bared, as she stared down the irons, locking the v-sight into his chest.

The fox man swiftly spun his head toward her, and lowered the muzzle of the old weapon toward the ground. Krystal looked the figure over. An older red fox, in a black leather jacket stood before her. The red fur around his face glistened with just a touch of silver-grey, indicating that he was an older man. A pair of aviator sunglasses covered his eyes beyond her sight. She could see a dual image of the glowing muzzle of the Blaster in the glass of his shades.

"Drop the weapon now." She said calmly but assertively. "And hands up where I can see them."

The man slowly let down the weapon first to his side, and then lightly set it down on the ground beside him, his paws were up in front of him, showing her he hand nothing in them. She didn't let her guard down. The little fox stared at a small pin the man's chest. It was a red logo, in the shape of a red quadraped. A fox with wings. The emblem of StarFox.

Krystal growled. "That pin. The one on your chest. Where did you get that?"

The old man replied in a smooth and powerful voice. "I'd expect you to know that Krystal."

Krystal instinctively loosened her grip around the pistol, but she didn't know why. Her eyes roamed toward the blue and silver ship. She side stepped toward it, still holding the Blaster up toward the man. She could see lettering on the side of the hull. With one paw, she brushed the side of the ship, using her hand to clear away burnt carbon on the side of the fighter. She brushed off the black plasma residue, revealing the same red emblem, and below it, a word.

"_Arwing"_ it said, in retro lettering. Though missing a few letters, and parts of other ones, Krystal could still make out the writing on the undercarriage, parallel to the red emblem. The letters that were missing were still tanned onto the hull.

Krystal slowly lowered the pistol, and raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

The vulpine smiled back at her. He took off his sunglasses, and tucked them into the front pocket, next to the emblem. Krystal found herself staring into two deep, hazel colored eyes.

"I'm James McCloud."


	24. Possessed

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul**  
**XXIV  
Possessed  
**_SyxxFox_

"Maybe I'm a little Cynical indeed,  
But after all that I have seen,  
Can you Blame me?

Maybe I Just need a reason to believe,  
After all that I have seen,  
Can you blame me?"

**Testing Tomorrow **_**– "Cynical"**_

* * *

Krystal slowly lowered the Blaster, roving it off the red fox's chest, she still pointed the weapon at the man, holding the Blaster at her hip. Her finger still remained on the trigger. She could feel a familiar thought pattern of this man, just like Fox used to possess. An aura. It was tame, and pure, matching that of Fox McCloud, but this was not Fox. This was someone else.

"James McCloud." She said softly. "Fox's father."

"That'd be me."

"No." She lifted the weapon once more. "Fox told me his father was dead. Who are you really?"

"Well, there's a lot of things that Fox didn't know." He smiled at her, and looked her over through his glazed sunglasses.

"Why're you here then? What do you know about this place?"

"Not much… in fact nothing at all really. I'm only here for one reason"

"What would that be?"

"Same as you… Searching."

Krystal didn't trust this man, but everything checked out. The ship, the symbol, and the name, and somehow he even knew her name. She had so many questions, but there wasn't any time for that right now, she had to be sure. She had to be sure that he was indeed who he said he was.

"Tell me about your son." She asked.

He grinned at her. "I don't think there is time for that right now Krystal. I think he needs our help now more than ever."

Krystal put down the weapon, holding it tightly with both paws, pointing it toward the ground. "What do you know about Fox? Fox died years ago." She tested him.

"Please Krystal. We're the only two beings in the entire universe that know who he is."

"Then how did you find out?"

He laughed. "Please! He's my son. I know everything about him!"

"Then…" Her eyes lit up. "You can tell me why he is doing this!?"

James took a long pause, and let out a shallow sigh. The pause alone, already breaking Krystal's heart, she knew that she wouldn't like the answer. "I can tell you why he's done this, but it won't help. I came here searching for a way to stop the Aparoids. Not to stop Fox."

Krystal was shocked. "What about your son?"

"Fox lost his way a long time ago. My responsibility lay's not toward my son, but as it always has, to the entire Lylat System." He turned his back toward her, and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Krystal pulled the pistol back up. It clicked sharply, causing him to spin back around and face her again. "I've heard stories about you Mr. McCloud, and that doesn't sound like anything that you'd ever say. I have a debt to settle with Fox. He saved me from the evil that used to control this planet. Now, I have to save Fox from… himself."

James tipped down his glasses, looking at her above the lenses. "I love my son, Krystal, but there is nothing I can do for him now. My son has been destroyed. It's too late for him, and I have to start thinking about the rest of the system's wellbeing. Not his."

Butterflies filled Krystal's stomach as she tried to hold back a tear. "Well I happen to know that the only way to destroy the Aparoids is the redeem Fox!"

James took interest in this. He took a long pause, putting his glasses back on. He bit his lip, and wagged his tail once. His left ear flickered. "How do you know this Krystal?"

She swallowed hard. "I know this might sound hard to believe, but Fox told me himself. You see, I'm telepathic. I could still talk to him. I could still feel him. He still lives within. He told me, that Syxx was the only one who could stop this war. The only way we can stop the Aparoids, is to redeem Fox. Without him, the entire system will be lost. And we face extinction."

The older vulpine bit his lip. "And how exactly do you propose that we do that? There's only one person who ever defeated the Aparoids, and that was my son, and he didn't do it alone."

"This planet holds a magical power, Mister McCloud."

"Yes, I understand that you know a fair bit about this planet." He took a pause. "And your way around."

She nodded. "Not as well as Fox did, but yes. I do."

"Well miss Krystal, let's get to it then. Time isn't on our side. Where do we start?"

"You-you want to help me?"

"Well, we're both here for the same purpose. I don't see why not." He paused. "Is there anything wrong with that?" He took a step toward her.

Krystal took a step back, and lifted the muzzle slightly.

James paused in his tracks. "Unless you have something else in mind?"

Krystal grit her teeth. "I'm sorry. You must understand why I'm having a hard time trusting you. If you're still alive, it means that you didn't die on Venom. It means you abandoned Fox."

James sighed. "Alright, maybe I wasn't father of the year. But I loved my son. I still do. Nothing has changed that."

"Then what happened? Why did you leave him? He needed a father. He needed someone to look up to. Why would his own father abandon him?"

"Because… because I couldn't face Corneria again. Maybe I'm, a little cynical indeed. But after all that I have seen, can you blame me? Now I have a reason to believe."

Krystal growled at the larger vulpine. "_Why_ did you abandon him?"

"A hero's life isn't all it's cracked up to be. Not on Corneria. It was all too hard to handle. After Andross killed Vixy, I thought I finally had my chance to get my revenge on him. I had my chance to destroy him… but I never got the chance. I was betrayed by one of own. My own team mate. Pigma left me for dead on Venom, and I nearly did die there. I didn't mean to leave Fox like that, but I couldn't face him again. I gave up on revenge on my demons, but I guess Fox didn't. I learned something that Fox never could… I learned how to let things go. And I learned that revenge is empty." He took a deep breath, and a long pause. "I want to help. One chance. That's all I ask. Where do we start?"

"It should be quite simple." She holstered the weapon, and revealed her staff. "All we have to do is retrieve a Krazoa Spirit, and return it to the surface of Corneria."

He laughed. "Sounds simple enough. How do we get one of these Spirits?"

She pointed to the top of the waterfall. There was a giant man, made of stone encased in the ground from the waist downward. "He can get us there. He's called a Warpstone. I remember Fox telling stories of how he got to Krazoa Palace. The Krazoa Palace, is the only place where we can retrieve a Spirit."

"Right, let's go then." James picked the old shotgun up from off the ground.

"Wait. You need to leave that here."

James grabbed a red shell from his pocket, and slipped it into the magazine tube of the shotgun. "And just why would I do that?"

"This is a peaceful planet now. You don't need a weapon. The inhabitants on this planet have zero tolerance for weapons like these." Krystal pulled the Blaster out of its holster, and tossed it into the river.

James looked at the staff that Krystal had. "And you still get your staff?"

"Do you want to save Fox, or not?"

"Fine." James reached into his Arwing. He pulled out a silver box of shotgun shells, and a sling. He pocketed the shells in his vest, and slung the close range weapon over his back. "I'll take it in hopes not needing it then." James began walking up the hill toward the inlet in which the Warpstone resided.

Krystal smiled inside. He acted exactly like Fox would, and she reminisced about old times. She could see now where he got his stubbornness from. She ran to catch up to the man. They walked together in silence, as Krystal was still suspicious of the fox. Why would he reveal himself now? Though she didn't ask him these questions, she could still read his mind. It was so similar to Fox's. Almost as if they were the same person. It made her miss Fox even more, but she wasn't going to let her guard down while she was around this strange man.

They stepped over a small bridge. The Warpstone was surrounded by a small shallow mote that fed the waterfall which landed in the hollow below.

"Excuse me!" Krystal shouted.

The huge rock man rotated on his pedestal. He roared mightily. It looked as if he were made of brick. "Aggghh! If it isn't you young lass!" He answered in a thunderous voice. His Scottish accent rumbled through the valley, making the ground shake, as small birds fled from the nearby trees that surrounded the hollow. Thorntails from the valley below looked up to the giant man for a moment, before resuming their grazing.

"Huh?" Krystal asked. "How do you know me?"

"I've seen you in these parts many times! Why have you never stopped to talk to me!?"

Krystal blushed. She smiled, nervously. "Well, I guess I was really busy. But, I need your help now Mr. Warpstone."

He laughed, throwing his arms in the air. "Sorry lass. I'm just an old Warpstone. I can't help anyone! Not anymore!" He paused, after a giving a groan, and a mighty stretch. "I've only ever helped one person in the last thousand years!" His voice echoed. "A fellow by the name of Fox McCloud! Did this planet a great favor he did! He freed us from General Scales reign! A favor that we are forever in debt for."

"But Sir, I-"

"Ah, and who is your little friend? A mate?"

"No!" Krsytal jumped and blushed. She turned toward the older vulpine. "This is James. James McCloud."

"James McCloud!?" He threw his arms in the air.

"That's right Mister Warpstone. He is Fox's father." Said Krystal.

"James McCloud!" He said again. Suddenly, the ground around them began to shift, and rumble. From the stone, arose a tall pedestal, elevating them up toward the Warpstone, so he could better see the two small mammals. "You should be very proud of your son Mister McCloud! Around these parts, he is a great hero! This planet is in his debt."

"Of course I'm proud of my son. But right now, he needs our help."

"Fox is in trouble!" He roared. "Well why didn't you say so!? I would be honored, to help you in that case. Any friend of Fox is a friend of mine. So lass, what is it that you require my assistance with?" He humbly bowed his mighty head, putting his arm into his chest.

"We need to go to Krazoa Palace." Krystal replied. "Can you get us there?"

"Agghh, the mighty Krazoa." The Warpstone looked to the sky. "The palace of our gods, and our ancestors, and of course, those who created me. Why do you need to go there?"

"We need a Krazoa Spirit." Krystal put her paw behind her head. "We need it to give to Fox. It is the only way that we can save him."

"Of course I can get you there!" He lowered his hand of stone. "Climb aboard."

The two fox's both glanced at each other, and hesitated. Krystal was the first to step foot into his palm, and James soon follow. The Warpstone lifted them into the air, level with his head. Krystal bent her knees, trying not to fall off. He roved his hand, almost making them both, fall to the ground below.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" His laughed roared. "Sorry! It's been a while!" He coughed heavily, covering his mouth with his other hand. "Are you ready to go, to Krazoa Palace?"

They both nodded, timidly.

"Good luck then you two!"

The stone man slowly opened his hand. The foxes became encircled in bright blue and white light. Krystal felt light headed, and could feel herself disappearing.

"And remember! Only the pure of heart, can enter the Krazoa's Shrine!"

* * *

X

* * *

Krystal had experienced this before. She could see through space and time, as her body spun in weightlessness. Fox had described it as "Seeing, and traveling sideways in time." She was once again enveloped in bright blue light as she reappeared at the entrance to the palace. A long walk way appeared in front of her, with two blue flaming torches guarding the way. A moment later, James appeared beside her. He took a quick glance around.

"So this is Krazoa Palace?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"You've been here before Krystal."

"Only once. My last visit wasn't so pleasant."

He smiled at her. "I wasn't asking. Come on. Let's go."

Together they walked toward the palace, down the long walk way. Near the entrance, two tall glowing figures roamed through the tall pillars. They emitted a bright blue radiance, as the air around them burned. They were strange creatures. A glowing brain, went down to a series of spines and tentacles that waved, as they roamed the palace.

"What are those things?" James asked.

"They're strange aren't they? They're the guardians of the palace. They're spirits of some kind."

One whooshed past them. James reached over his shoulder, and grabbed the close quarter's weapon, and pumped the front handle, giving it two swift clicks. "Are they dangerous?"

"Don't get too close to them. They don't have eyes, but they can sense your thought patterns when you come near them, they'll attack you. If you give them the chance, they will kill you." Krystal stepped right between them, and James followed close behind, weary of the new creatures.

They entered the palace's tall walls. The ancient stone work had massive cracks, with moss growing between the stone. It grew dark as they entered the palace.

"What is that?" James asked her.

They approached a tall and wide door. A red force field of fire spun in front of the door. James approached the door, holding his gun by the handle with one paw. He touched the red fire, and felt his fur singe. He quickly pulled his paw away.

"This is a Life Force Doorway." She answered simply. "Do you see those two skulls? We must destroy those guardians, and the doorway will open."

James laughed. "Let's do then!"

They moved back toward the entrance to the lobby of the palace. James approached the Guardian, when it started to move toward him. The spirit crackled, and began to spin. Its razor sharp arms protruded outward, reaching toward James. The creature made crackling and whooshing noises, as it closed in on James. The vulpine lifted the wide barrel of the gun, pointing it at the brain of the creature. He clicked in the small cylinder at the base of the trigger guard, so it popped out, revealing red paint. Without hesitation, he squeezed the trigger. The gun blasted, with a bright yellow flash, and puff of smoke. He pumped the gun, spinning on his heel, quickly terminating the other guardian.

Each guardian screamed as it disappeared in a bright flash, into thin air. Krystal's head rang each time that the heavy weapon was shot. She'd never heard anything so loud. She watched James pump the weapon once more, and observed the red plastic shell tumble to the stone. James grasped the handle, pointing the gun straight in the air, he reached into his pocket, and one by one, put two more red cylinders into the gun.

Krystal leaned over, and picked up one of the empty shells, and she could smell the smoke. Around the base there was a brass ring, with a silver plate, and a bronze pin in the center. It read "12g."

"I'm not familiar with this sort of weapon. I've never seen anyone use a weapon like this."

"This?" He showed her the weapon. "This is a shotgun. They stopped making these many years ago, when the military funded plasma innovation, and it became successful, they stopped making projectile oriented weapons. The Blaster is much more efficient, but it lacks stopping power."

Krystal and James made their way through the castle doors. The palace was massive. The doors stood many times taller than either of them. It was silent as they stepped through the rooms. Only the sound of dripping water echoed against the fortress walls, and down the ancient hallways of stone. Tall statues of the Krazoa stood in nearly every room they passed through. A tall figure clad in robes of stone, standing majestically, over-watching the fortress.

Soon, they entered the wind tunnel. Krystal remember being swept through the barriers, encased in a crystalline prison, as she was lifted to the top of the palace. The face of the figure that pushed her into the magical energy still plagued her dreams. Sentries roamed the palace, cracking, and glowing in the dim little light that shone through the walls, and from the ceiling above. Massive fans blew air toward the ceiling of Krazoa Palce, and above, is where she would unlock the Krazoa.

Krystal stepped toward the uplifting fan, but James stopped her. "What're you doing?"

"There's only one way to the top of this place, and I have to get there."

James looked over the edge, and up into the chamber. A fall that far would surely be death and her plan was to go up even higher.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked.

She smiled at him. "Your son's done it."

With that she ran and leapt onto the fan pedestal. She didn't even touch the ground after she jumped. The vixen was hurled into the air. She could feel strong butterflies in her stomach as she lifted up one, two, three, four, stories, and gently landed on the platform above, and took the final chamber that lead her to the top of the palace.

Krystal landed on the roof of Krazoa Palace. She could feel a light mist of a coming rain against her fur. The water, over time, slowly beaded on the tips of her luxurious blue fur, causing a shiver to run down her spine. Krystal quickly assessed the palace roof. She stared at the apex of roof, where she had been imprisoned. One of the stone columns has since collapsed, and some of the stone work of the roof had buldging fractures in it, where brown moss thrived, giving the palace an old, musty, and a slight rotting smell.

Her heart leaped as she spotted something. She froze in place, staring at a black and silver ship for a moment, before she spun on her heals, and looked around the roof top. She didn't hear anything though, except the rumbling of far off thunder. James suddenly came up the lift, and landed next to her, with one knee, and one paw on the stone.

He rose to his feet. "What's wrong?" He immediately asked.

The vixen pointed at the silver fighter. "Over there."

She pulled out her staff. This caused James to do the same with his shotgun. They both slowly approached the ship, with their weapons raised to the cock pit. They both encircled the ship, but didn't see anything. Krystal jumped up on the hull, and pried open the silver canopy, but it was empty.

"It looks like it's been here a while. Look, there's moss growing on the undercarriage." James pointed out. "I don't think anyone else is around."

Krystal slowly let the staff down, but she didn't let it drop out of her paw. She scanned the area, with her mind, and though she could sense nothing, that wasn't enough to let her guard down. She had been fooled by Slayers many times before.

The sky rumbled, and the clouds above began to flicker, as the storm began to loom down on the palace. James looked to the skies. "If you're going to do something you better do it quick."

Krystal nodded. Around the crown of the palace, where she had once been imprisoned, there were glowing pedestals that had been placed into front of palace. Krystal stepped toward it. On the wall, there was a silver carving of the gods head, that hadn't seemed to age a day compared to rest of the Palace around it. Surrounding the head, was a water-like substance, but it hung against the wall, defying gravity in a pool. The eyes, and a crystal on the forehead of the monument glowed bright white, and Krystal could hear the sounds of the spirit. Indescribable murmurs, and wisps of speech.

Krystal stood on the platform, and closed her eyes. Her mind went a mile a minute, as she concentrated on the soul force of the planet. She tried to lure it out of its resting place, by using her sixth sense. Only the pure of heart could enter the shrine, but anyone could be possessed by a Krazoa.

James stood back and watched. He could feel a sharp electricity in the air, when the eyes, and gem of the statue began to grow brighter. Soon it was almost blinding, when suddenly the light cut out, and the carving began to glowing blue, as the spirit was slowly drawn out of its home. The ground all around them glowed blue as the spirit approached Krystal. The spirit was merely a floating head, just like the monument that it had come out of, laced with translucent tentacles. He could see right through it, like a ghost as it murmured its ancient tones and whispers.

It slowly approached the vixen, before instantly taking off, smashing itself through her body, and into her soul. The force threw Krystal straight into the air, and she hovered above the palace, luminous in a bright blue glow. Her eyes remained shut, as her glimmering body slowly lowered itself to the palace roof top.

James tossed his weapon aside, and went to catch her. The little blue fox, was gently lowered to the ground. James grabbed her underneath her armpits, and slowly let her fall to the palace floor. The blue radiance dimmed, and disappeared into her fur.

The older fox put her down. "You alright kid?"

Krystal's eyes snap open, revealing luminous, liquid blue fire within them. "Perfect."


	25. The Loved and the Lost

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul**  
**XXV  
The Loved and the Lost  
**

_SyxxFox_

"_To unafraid of what's to come,  
I hit the ground and run,  
Not sure what's coming next,  
And never looking back,_

Hollow nights to empty days,  
Something had to change,  
Before it gets too late and there's no turning back,"

**Atreyu **_**– "Lonely"**_

* * *

"I need to get back to Corneria. Fast."

James looked into Krystal's liquid blue eyes, taking a sharp step back. The red fox's eyes roved over to the silver fighter. "Well that's gonna' be your fastest way home." He motioned his head toward the Slayer signature F1 Hook Echo. "I've seen what those fighters can do. They're unstoppable."

Krystal nodded. "I can't fly the Arwing back. I too have seen these fighters in action, but I've also seen them destroyed."

"They've single handily attacked battleships and carriers, and come out on top. I've seen them outrun missiles too." James approached the Hook Echo, and rubbed a paw across the wing. "You might be able to bypass the entire fight in this ship. Just make sure that the Navy doesn't dust you. They've got cloaking devices and tons of other stuff that I have no idea how to use. But you'll have plenty of time to figure all that out. And you've lucked out Krystal, there should be plenty of fuel to get you to at least Katina. Anywhere after that is pushing your luck. Try to fuel up there.

Krystal jumped up the step, and opened the silver hatch. With a mighty tug, the hatch swung open, in a swift _hiss_, revealing the cockpit. The interior was pristine. The slick black leather seat didn't have a scuff on it. Not a speck of dust on the controls either. There was a little bit of moss, and rust on the exposed landing gear, but that was it.

"You think it will run?" She asked.

James was under the ship, looking at parts. "I'm no engineer, but there are four full fuel cores. No reason why it shouldn't fire. Let's see what this baby can do."

Krystal hopped into the pilot's seat. It was large and roomy compared to the Arwing. Even though the interior was large, the exterior still felt small and nimble. She adjusted the controls, so they fit her properly. Everything moved so smoothly. She could feel the quality in her paws. Krystal engaged the internal power, and lights on the dash faded up, and soon after began the ignition sequence. She heard a quick clicking noise, and it cut out. A red light blinked on the dash, and a small monitor read…

Internal Power… enabled  
External Power… Disabled  
Deflector Shield… Enabled  
ENGINE FAILURE… running diagnostics  
…Injection jets normal  
…Low fuel Pressure  
…add fuel or prime engines.

The ship made three clicks, and the ship powered down, leaving only a few blinking lights on the dash board.

Before Krystal could even say a word to James, he was under the ship, behind the rear landing gear. He reached his paws into an open hatch. "I know that sound. Hold on Krystal." He was gone just for a moment. "Try that."

She engaged the ignition again. She heard two clicks, before a low whistling noise began to fill the air. It started as a low hum, and soon was at a full out screech. The dust on the castle top, spun around the fighter. Krystal began flipping switches, and pulling on levers in the cab. It was very similar to an Arwing. Everything was in the same place, except for some extra bells and whistles. The engines warmed slowly, and Krystal removed herself from the cab to thank James, but she spotted him walking away.

She stood on the wing. "Wait!"

James spun around on his heels, looking up at her. "I'll be fine Krystal, you need to get back to Corneria, and bring this war to a stop."

"Hold it. You said you know why Fox did this."

James put his glasses on his eyes. "Being a hero is a lot harder than it seems. It's not all it's cracked up to be. In fact, it's all sacrifice." He took a long pause, kicking his boot across the ground. "I guess Fox and I both dealt with it in our own ways. I was too afraid of whats the come, I hit the ground and run. I wasn't sure of what was coming next, and I never looked back... I never looked back for Fox. Neither of us were right to behave the way we have. And if I was there for him, Fox wouldn't have gone as far as he had. Why he cracked may-be because of you, but it all began with me. And I'm taking responsibility,"

"James… promise to come home soon. Fox needs you."

He nodded slowly. "There's just one more thing I want you to remember Krystal. Andross used the power of the Krazoa to revive himself. Fox could need it to defeat the evil within. But somehow… if he tricked you into obtaining a Krazoa for him... Syxx will become stronger than ever."

"What do you mean?" She yelled out over the churning engine.

"Fox knows how powerful these spirits are. And Syxx knows he can manipulate you into doing what he wants you to. If he uses this new power for darkness… he will become unstoppable."

* * *

X

* * *

The nights were cold, and the days were hot. But even at midnight, the sky maintained its orange-red hue, masking the stars, that hadn't been seen on the planet since the detonation of the bombs. Wild temperature changes from day to night often caused wicked wind storms to rip across the planet's surface. It almost never rained. The photons trapped the vapor in the burning skies, never giving it the chance to cool enough to condense. But with the come of photonic winter, no one knew what would remain.

Pyro sat on a stone wall overlooking the beach. The coon unclipped his helmet and it made a short hiss, and he put it down beside him on the ledge. He reached into his vest, taking out a brown cigar, and lighting it in his muzzle in a deep drag. The ocean was dirty with the rubble of a thousand sea bearing ships, and buildings. In the night, it looked black, and he knew that the night was the only safe time to be outside, roaming the desolate streets of Corneria. In the day, militias patrolled the city, taking what they could, and killing anyone who stood in their way. He had even seen children as part of these armies, but he didn't care. He had thermal vision in the Vortec. He had the advantage at night. He had electronics. Something no one else had.

He dared not travel through the streets in the day time. He'd spotted many snipers, and ambush sites along the road, where unsuspecting passers-by would be taken for all they were worth, and sometimes killed. The city was completely controlled by militias now, and there was nothing that the military could do about it. Not at the state they were in. More of the population survived than Pyro had predicted. Maybe even up to a hundred thousand still occupied the city. That was, those who didn't flee, or die. Most of population fled the city after the blast. Many didn't make it. Most died of sickness, or other effects of the fall out.

He took a deep drag, looking over the ocean. A high pitched whistle made him jump. The inside of the helmet lit up. He snatched the HUD out of the bucket, and put the red lens and ear piece onto his head. He listened.

"Does anyone copy?"

Pyro took the cigar out of his mouth, putting it between two fingers. "Go for Pyro."

"Pyro. Is Syxx with you?"

"Negative. He's been captured by the military. Not sure if there is much I can do alone before I get a little help from you guys."

"What about Max?"

Pyro coughed. "He didn't make it."

"Sorry to hear that. We advise you find a way off the planet."

"What's going on?" Pyro sat up properly.

"Myself and the rest of the Slayers have decided that we have no place in this war. Syxx is on a vengeful path to self-destruction, and we have no intension in dying for Syxx's personal demons."

"So what? We're abandoning him?" Pyro shouted through the headset.

"If you can find your way off the surface, then you may join the rest of the Slayers Pyro, but we no longer want to fight Syxx's war. Not for personal revenge."

"Getting off the planet isn't the problem! Syxx united us! If it weren't for him, we'd still be fighting Corneria's wars! We'd be in the same position."

"Then you are condemned, with Syxx."

"Wait just a sec!" Pyro growled. The HUD over his eye read: _signal terminated._

"F-ck-r…" He mumbled and tossed the headset back into the helmet without mounting it to the interior bracket. He finished his smoke. Pyro then buckled the mirrored helmet to his armor. He slowly got up, and picked up his weapon from off the ground, brushing off the radioactive sand.

"Well kid." He spoke to himself. "I gotta' get you out of jail."

* * *

X

* * *

The ship was fast, she gave it that. The Hook Echo was also roomy and comfortable to pilot through the stars. It had been a day already that she had spent in this ship, roaming through the stars, on her way back to Corneria, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to make it that far with the fuel that she had already expended. She would have to stop somewhere and get new fuel cells, and that somewhere would have to be Katina. It would be the only place where she would be able to find anything like that. On Katina, there was a strong army base, and it was populated by almost a hundred million civilians, plus the Military personal.

She couldn't stop thinking about what James had told her. It made her anxious, and uneasy. She questioned her actions of going to Sauria for the spirit. But, ultimately, had no other choice. There was nothing else that she could do. This was their only chance, and the chance that she would have to take to regain hope.

Krystal had already gotten used to seeing Aparoidian constructs. She had noticed that they liked to lay hidden in asteroid fields, laying in wait for pray to stumble upon them. James was right about the ship though, she had passed right by many patrols, without them even detecting her. Where she would really be in trouble, is if she ran into another Hook Echo. Though the ship was built with stealth technology, and she couldn't be seen, she wouldn't be able to see them coming either. If she turned her radar on, they would detect her right away. She would have to fly without it.

She especially grew worried about this when she began to near Katina. The orbit of the planet grew alive with fire, and rubble, as massive Cornerian frigates, and battle ships, were bore down upon by the Aparoidian Army.

Her palms grew sweaty. This meant that the Cornerian Army didn't know who she was either. Upon seeing this ship, surly they would open fire upon her. She slowly let out on the throttle, as the planet grew wider against the canopy. As she let off on the throttles, she froze in her seat. From behind her, dozens of small bug-like ships slowly coasted past. All metallic blue hue of Aparoidian construct. Small green jets pressed them past the vixen's ship. She could feel their thought patterns run through her veins. They slowly passed by her, before jetting off to war, attacking the Cornerian fighters and ships.

She wanted to help, but she feared that after she engaged the Aparoids, then both forces would then engage her. She would have to sit this one out. A fight here would mean certain death. She would just have to coast by, and hope that no one would notice her.

But of course it wouldn't be that easy. A freighter immediately cut her off, and grey Cornerian ships swarmed around her. She tried to coast past, but soon she was spotted. Alarms rang through the cab. The Cornerian fighters didn't hesitate to open fire upon her.

"I'm on your side!" She shouted.

A rail slashed across a wing of the ship. An alarm in the cab rang out once again, and then immediately went away.

Krystal struggled to open the communications line. "Hold your fire! I'm on your side! I've commandeered one of their ships!"

She heard one reply. "No quarter on HE's. Disregard that transmission squad. Green light. Engage the enemy fighter. Priority."

Krystal whispered to herself. "Alright. Let's see what this puppy can do!"

As a formation approached her, Krystal slammed on the throttles. The ship was pushed to its limit. Krystal was slammed back into the seat of the ship. It slowly rotated, as the winglets sliced a cool white. She had to let up on the throttles, to keep from blacking out. She weaved over the squadron as they swerved to avoid a collision with her, making headway toward the planet. She dipped and dodged past all the rubble that clouded the orbit. Green rails of light flashed past her on either side, but before long they disengaged, and a screaming alarm rang out through the cabin. A Flashing red warning came over the console.

EXTREME DANGER… Reduce Speed for re-entry

She hadn't even noticed that she was that close to the planet. The nose of the ship already was glowing a dim red, as the ship began to jump and jostle. She let up on the throttle, and shut down the flow to the engines nearly altogether, slowing them to a near idle, just enough for them to allow control for the ship.

Before long the cloud scape spanned out in front of her, and ice condensed on the hull and windshield of the ship as she pierced through the puffy clouds. She always loved passing through the clouds, and seeing the scape below her. It was so vast and green, speckled with that of the clouds shadow from above. That wasn't all she saw this time though. She saw long trails of black smoke, leading into the sky.

She slowed her approach to the planet. The engines whistled in her ears, and she slowly lowered her altitude, nearing what she hoped would be a Cornerian outpost.

The radio flicked a hissy and static like message. "This is Optic-Relay. New Target spotted. Shape matches an F1. Target spotted by optics only, no shadow."

"Take it down. Don't let it approach the base."

"Arming long range rail cannon… Delivering."

Krystal felt the air around the ship discharge with a heavy and blunt force. The ship made an ear defining crash. The next thing that she smelled was smoke, and the ship seemed to fall out of the sky. Krystal pulled hard on the command sticks, but before long the ship started to spin, in a downward nose dive.

The radio crackled again. "Hit. Rearming."

She frantically mashed the command console. Bright white flares burst off from the wings of the ship, leaving white streaks of smoke behind each blaze that followed the smoking ship downward. She felt the air around the ship change shape again as another bring flash slashed past the ship, narrowly missing the Hook Echo.

"F1 is popping flares, and is too low for rail gun. Trajectory puts the crash site on the eastern foot-hills. Target reset."

Alarms rang, clouding her thoughts. She continued to pull up on the sticks; she thought that her arms were going to break off, when the ship began to straighten itself out.

She was still losing altitude quickly though, and the ship scrolled messages to her.

DANGER… Engine Failure  
EXTREME DANGER… Low Altitude  
OPT FOR MANUEL RELEASE

Krystal's paws rifled through the seat below her, looking for a handle or leaver of some kind. Anything to get her away from the heavy carcass of the Hook Echo. The vixen couldn't feel anything though. No lever. No handle. There were too many buttons. Too many switches. She quickly gave up on the search for the release. It was hopeless. The ship careened downward, beginning to spiral. She pulled up on the command throttles once again. She straightened the ship out, and slowly leveled it toward the ground, reducing the speed. She headed toward the forest. Tree tops screeched across the belly of the ship, slashing through the steel, one after the other.

She could hear limbs snapping and crunching against the hull as it was torn apart. The ship's wing caught a tree trunk, and went spinning out of control. The side of the Echo slammed into the forest floor, chopping down some trees, and bouncing off others. The Hook Echo was torn apart. Krystal's head pounded as she watched the outside world spin and tumble. The glass cracked, and spider webbed, as the ship came to an abrupt halt on the forest floor. Krystal blacked out from the crash. The last thing that went through her vision was her own paw, reaching up toward the canopy, and into the green treed forest that lay outside.


	26. Hunted

**Note And Poll:**  
_Keep forgetting to say this, there is a pole on the SyxxFox profile at the very top, and you can vote for your favorite Rogue Fox Original Character! The main Slayers are on there, Pyro, Syxx, Cobalt, and even Kyla. As well as there are some others. Go ahead and vote! This is a blind poll, and the results will be revealed late 2012. I encourage everyone to vote!_

_Thanks everyone for all the reviews, the support and the media!  
I honestly, would not be continuing on with this story, if I didn't think I had as many fans as I do! This is for you, guys._

_-sx_

* * *

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul**  
**XXVI  
Hunted  
**_SyxxFox_

"_Untangle me from my detest now,  
Untangle my death,  
Breath of the breathless onto my end,  
Choking the truth within,_

_Alive inside,  
Never thought I'd get back here,  
Starting at the bottom,  
Life extinguish life,  
Life extinguish life,"_

**36 Crazyfists **_**– "Mercy and Grace"**_

* * *

The vixen's eyes fluttered open. Everything appeared blurry to her. Though her nostrils were filled with the fresh scent of green vegetation and soil, in her mouth she could taste blood, and lingering smoke in the air. When her vision finally returned, she could see the smoking remains of the Hook Echo. But she was lying face down in the soil, outside the F1. Drag marks were present on the forest floor where her heals dug into the dirt as she was pulled. The vixen moaned, as she tried to pick herself up, but froze as she could hear voices around her. Her body quickly tensed up, and she didn't move. She just listened, as her heart beat increased, and her claws lightly sunk into the soil. She tried to peek out through one eye, to see if she should spot anyone.

"I don't think she's one of them, man. She's got tattoos, but not the one that they all have. These ones are all different. No armour. No specialty equipment. The only thing that connects her is that ship."

"She was flying that F1. That's nothing that we've got. Look it's even got the Slayer's symbol on it. She has to be a Slayer."

"Should we just leave her then?"

"The Aparoids are going to be here soon, and if she's a Slayer, they'll tear us limb from limb. They won't attack her. And there'll be Slayer hunting us, and our chances of surviving that are pretty low. We've seen those things up way to close. And we're damn lucky that they didn't see us."

"What's the plan then?"

The sound of a mechanical _clank_ echoed in Krystal's head. She continued to hear the voices. "We kill her. One less Slayer hunting us. All the better. If she's not one, then we'll add her to the body count. She doesn't have dog tags. Besides what's one more life? Can't go wrong."

Krystal moaned, "Slayer?" she slowly lifted herself to her knees. She was still greatly confused. She stared at the path of destruction that she had left through the woods. A clear cutline was plowed through the trees, and a long trench where the ship had slid through the dirt, cutting up roots, and rocks, which all lead to a path were the smoldering Hook Echo laid in its shallow grave. The F1 smoldered, and smoked. It was finished.

"She's up!"

Krystal rolled over onto her back, as she was confronted with two massive German Sheppard's, in camouflage uniforms. She scrambled on her forearms, crawling on her back, baring her teeth in fear and confusion. She scrambled backwards, until her back was pressed up against a tree, where she made her final stand; only able to growl up at the two men.

One of the soldiers approached her. "Wait right there missy." He pointed a weapon at her.

Krystal's glassy blue-fire eyes looked up at him. She wasn't able to say a word, as she stared down the barrels of two firearms.

"Whoa… something ain't right about you!" He pointed his gun down at her, placing his finger inside the trigger guard, and flicking the safety up and off with a thumb.

"She's infected." The other man said.

Krystal put a paw up in front of her face, closed her eyes and looked away. "Wait!" She barked. Her paw bled bright red, and slowly dripped onto the dead leaves beneath her.

The other man, approached. "Hold up. Her blood is red. She can't be infected. Their blood's blue." He pushed the barrel of his comrads rifle toward the soldier's boots. He kneeled in front of Krystal. "Who are you?"

Krystal slowly opened her eyes, putting her arms down. "My name is Krystal. I'm not a Slayer. I'm a member of StarFalco."

"StarFalco huh? Yeah we know you. Where did you get that ship?"

"And what's with your eyes?" The other man asked.

"I stole it. And, it's a long story, but I need your help. I need to get back to Corneria."

The dog's eyes snapped open. "You were on Corneria!?"

Krystal nodded. "Yes. I have what we need to stop this war. I need to get back to Corneria, and stop Syxx."

"Who the h-ll is Syxx?"

A discrete crack in the bushes was heard behind Krystal. She spun her head around, as the two large men lifted the tip of their weapons, pointing them into the woods, stepping toward the noise. The silence consumed them, as the two men circled around her. One had a long sniper stretched across his back, and wielded a Blaster. He leaned down, and grabbed Krystal's paw, pulling her up.

"We'd better get moving. There's no way the Aparoids could have missed that crash. They'll be on us within the hour if we don't make some miles. We should be getting close to that trunk road soon."

Krystal wearily got to her feet with the help of the sniper. He smiled at her. "Don't worry Miss. We'll get you out of here safely. You're damn lucky that we found you first. Before the Aparoids did. I'm Sergeant Richards. This over here is Stagg."

He gently smiled, and spun his head, "Hey," before once again looking back into the woods searching for the Aparoids through the sights of his rifle.

Richards smiled. "Forget about him. We've been roaming these forests for a few weeks now. Lucky we found you before the Aparoids did. We'd give you a weapon, but we're nearly out of ammo, Miss."

"I hate to break up a warm reception, but we've gotta' get going. The Aparoids will be on us soon." Stagg growled.

"One second." Krystal stumbled to the over turned fighter, and reached through the broken glass, pulling her staff out of the machine, and her credit holding card. She mashed the button, and the staff swiftly extended to its full length. She jumped off the fuselage, stumbling from her weakness, and gave the fighter a last look over. The engines slowly smoldered, letting black smoke plume into the blue sky above. The silver wings had been ripped off the black hull, and lay in ruins in their own craters, and inside the trench that the crashed ship had created. She was lucky to have survived. The Arwing wouldn't have held up near as well, but at least in the Arwing, she wouldn't have gotten shot down in the first place.

They disappeared into the woods as the Hook Echo smoldered, and crackled.

"Where exactly are we?"

"Somewhere on the Eastern Slopes. West of The Katina Post."

The other man, Stagg answered as well. "We've been running around in these woods for weeks, trying make our way back to regroup with our forces. We came across some old settlement maps, in one of the abandoned villages. It says there's an old trunk road, just a few clicks east of here. We're hoping the Army is using it for fuel transport. Maybe we can hitch a ride."

"Ever since the Slayers took Outpost thirteen, we've been on our-"

"Shhhh!" Richards hissed. He motioned his paw toward the ground. Krystal took knee after she noticed the other warriors doing so.

Richards pointed his paw tips to his own eyes then forward. Krystal slowly peeked around the corner of a tree to see a dog in green camouflage dressing and hat stumbling through the aspen ahead. Stagg holstered his pistol, and slowly reached over his back, letting the sniper down in his arms. He raised the rifle to his shoulder, and stared down the scope.

Stagg whispered. "Infected. Four spotted." He let down the rifle. "I didn't think they'd find us that quick, I thought they were all still west of us! A few more minutes, and they would have walked right in on us."

"This forest is infested."

Krystal murmured to the sniper. "What's wrong?"

He passed the large sniper to her. It was heavy. Larger than any weapon she had ever carried. She lifted it to her shoulder, and stared down the scope. She was shaky at first, but soon steadied out. Her left arm shuttered as she struggled to hold up the heavy armor piercing rifle.

Stagg let her rest the rifle over his shoulder, so she could get a steady look. "You really are from Corneria. Look at their eyes. Look at the way they walk."

"We've got to keep heading East." Stagg growled. "We'll have to go through them."

Richards took the sniper back from Krystal. "I've only got ten rounds left. And I know you're on your last battery."

"Yeah but check it out." He pointed forward. "One of them still has a rifle slung over his back. Maybe they have ammo too. One's a medic. Probably got bit trying to help them out. Watch out for the wolf though. He's gonna' be a fast mover. He's more mutated than the rest."

"Orders are to cure the infected! We can't just go shooting them! There's still people inside there!" He hissed in a whisper.

"We've been disbanded for weeks! We don't know what the hell orders are! People or not." the other scout paused. "They may be alive inside, but we're here staring at the bottom. This is what we are trained to do. Life, extinguish, life.

He growled. "I don't know…"

"They had their chance. Now let us have ours."

"Yeah. Fine. You're right." The German Sheppard looked at the empty ammo satchels on his belt. "There's four of them, three of us."

Krystal's heart started to race. She remembered the infected in the First Aparoidian War. She had forgotten that they would return, as soldiers, and citizens alike became infected with the virus. "They're not that strong. I remember the first war."

"You really haven't been around have you?" Stagg growled as he put his back up against the tree, holding his rifle to his broad chest.

"The virus must have evolved since last time. They're stronger now. They don't think. They just attack. Don't let one even touch you. We don't have the anti-virum."

"They used to shoot. Why aren't they using their weapons?" She asked.

"They're not quite that smart." He smiled. "Not usually anyway. But they are a lot faster. So keep your eyes on."

Stagg looked down at them. "Try to stay out of sight kid."

Krystal mumbled. "I can handle myself."

Richards placed his rifle over his back, wielding his pistol. "Moving in, to engage." He whispered fiercely.

They quickly pranced through the woods, over fallen trees, and into trenches, hunched over as they ran. They took cover each behind their own tree. Richards lifted the pistol, and quickly rattled off three shots, each hitting their mark on the chest of the infected lynx, and making him fall to the ground. The other infected took notice immediately. The three remaining soldiers all spun toward them. Two took off immediately, running straight toward the three stranded. The third infected screamed at the top of his lungs, letting out a deafening high pitched screech into the woods. Immediately after with unreal strength, he jumped upward, and disappeared into the tree tops above.

Stagg covered his ears. "That's not good!"

Another infected ran on all fours. His eyes glowed electric blue, and teeth dripped with saliva. The Marines opened fire on him, but the infected dodged swiftly, jumping against a tree. His longs claws tore bark off the trunk, and he leaped for the kill. Only to be met by a hail of fire by Krystal's staff. Red balls of fire emitted from the emerald of the staff, each shot making a swooshing, and scorching resonance. He fell limp in midair, and the blue fox sidestepped as the dead infected went plowing into the bushes behind them.

Richards nabbed the M27 off the dead body. "Hey kid, catch."

Krystal's paw gripped the front stock of the rifle and caressed it into her shoulders, slipping her staff away. She spun on her heals, pointing the weapon toward the second assailant. She pulled the trigger, and saw the plasma bolts tear right through the man's torso, painting the tree behind it burnt red. It nearly split him in half.

"Sh-t. Anybody see that fourth one?"

"It's that damn wolf isn't it?"

They all looked up into the tall thick trees, putting their backs together in a triangle. They listened to the branches above them rustle with movement.

"Anybody see it!?"

A tree branch rumbled as the infected wolf landed on it. He perched himself on the branch like a bird. His claws dug into the bark, as he stood up on two legs. He threw his head back, and clenched his paws into tight bloody fists. It drew in a long breath, and screeched at top of its lungs. The sound was deafening, and ripped through their heads, scoring their senses.

Stagg powered through the shriek, and hip fired the rifle until the plasma tracers ripped across its body. The infected tumbled off the branch, and fell onto a log below, snapping it's back over the rotting trunk. It took a moment for Krystal's ears to stop ringing. When they did, it caused them all to freeze in their steps.

Another scream echoed through the forest. This one was father away, but it was the direction that the Hook Echo had crashed. They all stared into the forest, in the direction they had come, but saw nothing but the endless weave of sticks and trunks that lead into the dark abyss. The howl stopped and the resonance bounced through the forest, echoing around them.

"Grab their weapons and ammo!" Stagg barked. "We've gotta go now!"

Krystal collected all the magazines and batteries off the fallen, and inspected the rifle. "What's going on?" She asked. "What's wrong?"

Richards smiled subtlety. Krystal sixth sense ran through his mind, reading his thoughts. She could tell his heart was racing. She could tell something was wrong by his suddenly scattered and distressed thought patterns. "You're scared." She said.

"We're being f-ck-ng hunted."

Stagg growled. "If we're coming across infected here. This doesn't look good for our chances of finding Marines on the trunk road."

The scream came once again. It echoed through the woods. It sounded closer than it had just a few moments ago. Their hearts all raced.

"Come on!" Richards nearly yelled.

They didn't hesitate for another second. They all started to run. They're boots crunched on the fallen leaves, and Krystal batted branches out of her face, before she ran through the gap of the trees. They ran at full speed for over fifteen minutes. Every time that they heard the shriek, it would sound closer and closer. Before long, it sounded as if it were right behind them. Krystal, even with her gift, couldn't tell who it was, or what was chasing them. She was scared though. She didn't care what it was; she didn't want to meet it. She was getting tired though, and so were the Marines, and when it felt like the creature was screaming right in her ear, they had to stop.

They took cover behind a large over turned tree. They leaped over it, and hid on the other side, pressing their backs to the trunk. They all panted, and swallowed hard, trying to speak to each other, and trying to keep their breathing low enough so they could still hear.

"There's no way were going to be able to outrun that thing." Stagg gasped.

It screamed again. Richards slowly peaked over the log, but didn't see anything. He went back down. "Then we'll have to kill it." He pulled out the SA2 Sniper Rifle, and set it over the log. He slowly pulled the bolt backward, and then slipped it forward, and down. Stagg, rested his binoculars on the logs, and they stared down into the forest. They all waited in the silence, as the sounds drew closer and closer to them. Krystal put a paw on her staff, and tightened the grip on the pistol grip of the rifle. She put a new battery into the weapon, and tried to track the creature with her mind only, but she found it nearly impossible, though she could feel it tracking them. And Though she could still see into it's head, there was nothing there, there were no thoughts. It was the mind of something with only one thought. It was a hunter. And it was hunting _them._

"Hey." Richards whispered. "One hundred meters, one target."

"What the f-ck is that thing?"

"I don't know. Keep quiet. It doesn't know where we are. Let's not piss it off. That thing's got some serious armour. Look at all the scoring on it. We're not the first to come by it."

They watched the creature draw closer and closer. Krystal was afraid to see what it looked like, but her curiosity got the best of her. She flattened her ears, and slowly lifted her head above the log. What she saw took the breath out of her. It walked toward them on two legs, but it was easily twice the height of either Stagg or Richards. It had large, broad shoulders, and elegant sharp shoulders flares of orange, purple, blue, and silver. Though shaped like a Lylatian, it seemed to be more like a walking tank. Head to toe it was armored with thick silver-purple, and black plating. It wore a helmet with no visor, just steel, with two slits, that came off the dark purple headdress. There were two black slits where the eyes laid back within the helmet, though they were not visible. The arms were also heavily armored. One arm had a large purple-black shield that could cover half the body easily; the other arm grasped a long, curved sword. It was thick, and wide, but the silver blade glistened, flaunting a razor sharp edge. The sward had all sorts of carvings in it. The blade was longer than Krystal was tall, and it looked like it weighed just as much as she did, and more. The creature didn't carry it. It dragged it across the ground behind it.

It looked slow, but that observation was wrong. It suddenly shrieked again. Pulling its arms, backward, and projecting its voice into the air. Even from this far away, the shriek was ear numbing, and it stunned them. When it was finished, it lifted the sword up, and bolted toward them. Fallen logs splintered under its might, and branches crumbled against its armor as it ran past them.

"Don't move." Stagg hissed.

The ground began to rumble as the creature neared them. The monster stopped when it was standing right beside them. The survivors followed it with their eyes only. Krystal could get a good look at it now. She couldn't tell if it was organic, or mechanical. Surely it was too large to be organic. It must have been another Aparoid mutation. It stopped to shriek. Krystal thought her head was going to explode. The high pitch scream cut through her. Her head pounded, but she didn't move, besides the squint of her eyes. It suddenly turned toward them, and grunted, as if it were a real life form. Krystal thought her heart was going to break through her rib cage. She wanted to cry. She had never been so afraid. It was fast. It was large. She was frozen. She didn't even want to see what it was capable of. The creature turned its head away shortly after, lifted the sword from off the ground and took off into the forest, the same direction that they were heading. The ground shook, and Krystal's teeth rattled as the creature plowed down small trees, a scored others. Soon, it disappeared into the woods, and it once again became eerily silent. Her ears continued to ring.

When the noise faded out, they all jumped over to the other side of the log, and hid once more.

Richard panted. "Holly sh-t."

Stagg hissed through grit teeth. "What the f-ck was that thing!?"

"You've never seen that before?" Krystal asked.

"No." Richards shook his head. "And I'd hope to never come across that thing again. What the f-ck do you kill that with?"

"F-ck. We finally found something more terrifying than a Slayer." Stagg huffed.

They kept their weapons upward, as they walked through the forest. They approached the tracks of the beast. They turned their heads to the east again to hear the scream get a little quieter.

"Gods..." Richards huffed. "You got that right."

The creature left a massive track on the forest floor. The print was as wide as a tank track. That wasn't all. The blade that had been drug across the ground left a four inch deep trench in the soil.

"I hope we don't have to see that again." Said Stagg

They just stood there in the silence, before it was broken with the sound of far off weapons fire, and the scream of the creature. Their heads all snapped up, and they stared at each other in horror.

Richards barked. "We gotta get moving!"


	27. Reunion

**Note And Poll:**  
_Thought I would mention again, there is a pole on the SyxxFox profile at the very top, and you can vote for your favorite Rogue Fox Original Character! The main Slayers are on there, Pyro, Syxx, Cobalt, and even Kyla. As well as there are some others. Go ahead and vote! This is a blind poll, and the results will be revealed late 2012. I encourage everyone to vote!_

_-sx_

* * *

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul**  
**XXVII  
Reunion  
**_SyxxFox_

"_You've gone and done it again,  
You're always screwing with my mind,  
So sick & tired of this,  
You've pushed me way to far this time,_

But, I'm going to expose you,  
For the shape that you've become and,  
Violate you, desecrate you,  
Just like you've done,"

**Tracenine **_**– "Eye for an Eye"**_

* * *

It was easy. They followed the massive tracks of the creature through the woods. The gun fire had stopped a few minutes ago, and it had caused them to slow their approach to the fire fight. Sergeants Stagg, and Richards took point as they made their way through the thick forests of Katina. A blue vixen followed the tracks one at a time. Her sixth sense roved through the woods, as she tracked the creature. There were no thought patterns though, only the urge to kill filled the air around her. They could still see the trench that the blade had dug through the soil. Sometimes it lifted, and the tracks would scratch as the creature ran. Trees would splinter at the wake of its might. Nothing stood in the way of this killing machine. Krystal walked with sights up on her gun, pointing it in the direction of the tracks. Sometimes she would tuck the butt of the rifle under her shoulder, and cradle it by the pistol grip with one paw. Her other paw would land on her staff, ready to slice it.

"Hold!" Stagg put up a paw, and motioned downward. The squad crouched, and began to move in.

Richards held out the long sniper. He slowly stepped forward while still looking through the scope. Krystal could smell smoke in the air as they approached. She could see an old gravel road at the end of the tree line. There was nothing to be heard though. It was silent except for their footsteps, crunching through the dead leaves, of the forest.

They broke through, and ran down into the ditch. They all hit the dirt, just before the road. Krystal's eyes followed the tracks of the creature, which led straight ahead to a smoldering pile of rubble. She could spot the remnants of a Gillies transport carrier, and two trucks. Bodies lay on the side of the road, outside the trucks, and the Gillies APC was turned over on its side. One truck was in the ditch, and the other was on fire, half crushed with a giant foot print on the hood, making the vehicle crumple into itself, and smolder with thick smoke. Krystal spotted a Marine hanging from a tree. A four wheeled Landmaster Tank was stuck in the ditch, buried, half way up the armor, in the swamp. It burned, as waves of fire flashed out of the hatch. The massive barrel of the tank was bent, at a forty-five degree angle, with a rupture halfway up the pipe.

"We're did that thing go?" Richards hissed in a whisper.

"I don't know." Stagg said. "The tracks are everywhere."

"Eyes on."

Krystal investigated the overturned APC. It was completely empty, except for the driver that was still strapped into the seat, hanging sideways in the air. Blood dripped off his neck, and down onto the floor of the carrier. Richards stood behind Krystal. He looted the ammo box of the carrier, and stocked up on supplies.

Stagg searched the trucks. "Have a look around for any survivors. Be silent. I don't want that thing coming back."

There were bodies in the ditch, many still grasping their weapons. One man had been completely sliced in two, and Krystal couldn't bring herself to look at him. She had to turn away.

Krystal felt sick to her stomach. "These guys didn't even slow it down. It cut right through them." Her sixth sense scanned the area. "Wait… I can sense something." She put her paws on her temples. "Someone is still alive. I can feel it."

They searched through the bodies, before Krystal approached one that was in the ditch. His lower half was submerged in the mud. His rifle was cut in half, hanging around his neck by the straps in two separate pieces. The plasma rifle sparked from the center cuts, and the optics were sprawled out on the ground around them. His steel plated armor was slashed with a deep cut, the protection nearly penetrated by the blade that had cut his weapon in half. It was a raccoon, his ears were down and his eyes were shut. But he was still alive.

They heard a load roar from the down the road and the squad immediately crouched, thinking the worst, but from just over the hill, they could see a cloud of dust. It was the roar of a convoy. Moments later a heavily armored tracked Landmaster pulled up beside them, and an APC followed right behind that. A second Landmaster came crashing through the ditch, blowing over trees, and cutting through the mud, spinning its tires, and throwing water and mud up its side. It bypassed them to the other side of the ruined convey, it's massive turret turned down the road. A gunner had his head out of the porthole holding onto a mounted Gatling gun.

Richards and Stagg both held their rifles by the center of the stock, and boosted them above their heads. Krystal immediately did this after, showing that she was not infected. Marines swarmed the site, turning over bodies, and swiftly building a perimeter around the destroyed convoyed.

"Hey!" A young red vulpine approached them. "Sergeant Michelson, B Company. What happened here?"

"We don't know." Stagg answered. "We got here just after it happened. Some creature came out of the woods."

"Creature?" He asked.

"Yeah. Something big. An Aparoid of some kind. Not like anything we've ever run into before, that's for sure. We're a squad of three. We had no chance, so we bypassed it. Looks like these guys weren't so lucky."

"You guys saw it?"

Richards stepped in. "It was hunting us, and when it heard the convoy passing by, it went straight for them. Didn't look back."

The fox had a quick look around. He looked the two Marines up and down. "You boys aren't from around here?"

"We were stationed at Out Post thirteen. We got overrun at the front line, and me and Richards here got separated from the core."

The fox gave them a strange look. "Out post Thirteen got overrun over a month ago."

"Yeah." Stagg rolled his eyes. "You got that right."

Richards took a long deep sigh. "We've been getting by living off whatever we can salvage from lost settlements… which hasn't turned out to be much."

"Who's she?" The fox looked at her eyes. Krystal saw him reach for trigger of the rifle. "Hey, is she infected!?"

"No. She's a member of StarFalco. We need to get her back to Corneria. She says she can stop this war. She's tier-one priority. We have to get her to the Katina Post."

The sergeant nodded. "Well that's convenient. Falco Lombardi and his team landed just earlier today at The Post. We spotted a Hook Echo in the sky earlier, and brought it down. We thought we'd have a look for the crash site… and for the Slayer. But where's her ship?"

Krystal narrowed her gaze and growled. "That was me, you shot down."

There was silence for a moment, the Sergeant's mouth hung open for a moment as he stuttered. He was cut off though, by a sharp shriek that echoed through the valley and down the road. Marines quietly moved to defensive positions around the convoy, soon after they began to whisper among themselves.

As the scream stopped Stagg turned to the fox. "I'd suggest you get your troops out of here until we figure out how to kill that thing."

The fox looked at the tanks. "I think we've got more than enough firepower here to stop it."

Richards looked at the Landmaster in the ditch on its side, with the barrel bent a forty-five degree angle. "Didn't seem to help these guys out. I hope you got something bigger than a Landmaster up your sleeve."

The Fox Sergeant touched his paw to the side of his head. "Arc Angel, this is B-Com. Assessment."

The reply came in with the white noise of turbine engines in the background. "This is Arc Angel. We've spotted the creature one click south of your location. We lost in the trees though sixty seconds ago."

"Not good enough. Track it on thermals."

"Bravo, be advised. The creature has zero thermal signature. We are unable to track the target through the forest… and it may-be approaching you."

The radio chatter was broken by a scream that resonated from the forests of Katina. It filled the air around them. Soldiers shuffle uneasily at their posts, and ears of the men and women dropped, trying to lessen the impact from the scream on their sensitive ears. It sounded like it was closer than before.

"Wooo!" Krystal could overhear the radio. It was their fire support from the sky. "We heard that over the turbines Bravo. We've pointed the resonance North of last known location. You need to get mobile. That creature is closing in on your AO."

"Copy that Arc." The Marine Sergeant bit his lip. "Everybody mount up. Get any survivors into the trucks. Leave the bodies. We'll come back for them." He then looked at Krystal. "Get to the APC, if you're as important as they say you are, we're going to need to get you there as fast and as safe as we can."

Krystal nodded. "This man is still alive." She paused, looking at her boots. "He's the only one."

The Sergeant nodded, and two Marine's picked the man out of the mud, dragging his heals to the back of a medical truck, and tossed him onto a stretcher. Krystal followed the soldier to the Gillis APC, as did the sniper team. Two Marines remained stationed at the loading gate on either side of the APC. Krystal took a seat near the exit.

The Fox sergeant stopped at the back door and spoke into his headset. "Arc. Report."

"B-Com we only have tasking available for the next ten mikes."

The fox pressed his paw to the side of his helmet. "Provide over-watch of the convoy as long as you can, then head back to base."

"Arc Angel Copies all. Air support available for tasking for ten mikes. We'll see you at home kids."

Richards threw Stagg the sniper rifle near the entrance hatch to the APC. They would be the last ones to load, next to the guards. Stagg planted the butt of the SA2 heavy sniper rifle firmly in the dirt, pointing the sniper's muzzle into the air. Richards grabbed the barrel of the SA2, twisted it a half turn, and pulled it straight upward, pulling the barrel right out of the stock. With the weapon now split in two, it was much shorter, though still, each half was still the length of an assault rifle. But it was less cumbersome. And a rifle that long didn't fit so well into the hull of the APC with so many troops.

The guards moved in from the outside, sitting at the back of the transport. The machine began to move shortly after, and began to bounce down the old gravel road. Krystal planted the rifle's butt on the floor of the transport, and leaned forward, resting her head on the stock, the rocking of the APC was soothing, and before long she dozed off into a deep sleep, she fell onto Stagg's shoulder, and the rifle pointed at his head.

"Give me a break." He pulled the rifle out of her paws, putting it on the ceiling where extra ammo and weapons were stored.

Richards sat across from him and smiled.

Stagg rolled his eyes. "F-ck you."

Krystal listened to the turbine engines howl go farther and farther away, as she drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

X

* * *

"You've done it."

Krystal spun around on her heals. The whole world around her was white. She looked everywhere, and in a snap the whole world faded in. The vixen nearly fell over. Her tail waved around as she tried to get her balance back. She found herself in Throntail Hollow, right in the center of circle of massive boulders. Fox was standing off to the side, leaning on one of the boulders.

Krystal's heart jumped, and her stomach filled with butterflies. Her ears perked up, and she grinned. She wanted to run right at Fox and hug him, but when she took her second step, Fox quickly raised his firearm, and held the rifle to her torso. He held the long rifle with one paw by the pistol grip as his other paw propped him up against the rock. As the rifle rose it gave a swift click as the receiver shot forward.

Krystal froze. "Fox…" her vision tunneled. "It-it's me."

"I'm sorry Krystal. Syxx hunts during the day now."

Krystal took a look at the man. His brown t-shirt was stained and torn around the edges, and sleeves, with small holes around the collar. He wore green camouflage pants and grey boots, both soaking wet. Some of the fur around his cheeks was matted against his hide. His eyes had heavy dark bags under them, and his white fur was coated dusty brown.

"With Syxx getting stronger, I can't trust anyone anymore. I can see your eyes. You have the spirit. You need to get it back to Corneria."

Krystal stood awkwardly, and alone. She didn't know what to say. There was nothing to say.

Fox just stood there staring at her. "It's not over yet. Syxx is going to do anything he can to stop you. But he's not the only one you need to be aware of."

They stood there in the silence. Krystal's palms grew sweaty. Fox still pointed the weapon at her, but she didn't say anything.

"Get the spirit back to Corneria." He simply said, lowering the weapon, and slowly turned.

"Wait!" the little blue fox exclaimed. "I-I… was told that… you might be trying to fool me. That you weren't using the spirit to break free, but to grow stronger."

Fox turned back to her, and stared with an apathetic look in his eyes. "Krystal, there is nothing that I can say, that will clear this up right here, right now. You have to take a chance."

"I'm – I'm so sorry this happened."

One corner of his muzzle curved up into a smile. "When I was here, I came across a well. A well that told the future. It wasn't like anything else I've ever seen. I've never told you this before, but it told me about my father… and it told me about you."

"Wha- What did it say Fox?"

"You we're meant to be together. It was destiny. Together as one, you will bring peace." He paused. "I only wish it was true." A tear ran down his face.

Seeing Fox cry was more than Krystal could handle. She immediately broke out in tears. "Fox… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Fox turned, picking his backpack up from of the ground. He gave her the cold shoulder. "I'm not the one you wanna' be apologizing to."

"He's right." A lower voice thundered behind her.

Krystal gasped, and twirled around. Behind her, just a few feet away stood a jet black vulpine. He looked like an elite warrior. He wore deep black combative gear; a bandoleer was strapped across his chest, two plasma frags on his belt, next to the black pistol in a leather holster. On the other side, a long rifle was attached to a harness on his belt, and ran parallel alongside his body, and a knife sheathed on a patch on the left side of his chest, right over his heart. His armor, his fur, all his weapons, all black. All black except the short, but messy white blaze of fur that ran down his head, the white tattooed Black-Blade Star across his shoulder and the golden fang that hung alongside two rows of razor sharp teeth.

She looked over her shoulder, hoping to see Fox, but he was running away, taking off into the forest. She turned back just in time to see Syxx shove past her, reaching his right paw across his chest, to the handle of the knife. He gripped the knife firmly, and pulled out the matte-black blade. Syxx spun it gracefully in his paw, and caught the blade between his finger and his thumb. He swiftly pulled back his arm and tossed the knife. The knife glided swiftly through the air, and slammed into the tree, burring the dark blade halfway to the sheath. Splinters of wood and chips of bark shredded off the tree as the knife dug into the trunk, narrowly missing Fox.

Krystal stepped back as Syxx growled deeply. Her bottom jaw quivered, but she gathered her strength. "You've gone and done it again, you're always screwing with my mind! I'm so sick and tired of this. You've pushed me way too far this time!"

Syxx smiled back over his shoulder at her.

Krystal screamed at him, with tears rolling down her face. "I'm going to expose you, for shape that you've become! I'll violate you! Desecrate you! Just like you've done!"

"Eye for an eye." He turned, and without a second thought, rolled his pistol out of his holster, and before he was even finished lifting it and before he even turned his head fully around, he fired the pistol. It flashed brightly, and the sounds echoed through her head as the bolt made contact with her body.

The breath rushed out of both Krystal's lungs. The fox stumbled back a few steps, and toppled over into the grass. Her tail settled next to her shortly after. She could see and smell the green grass that tickled her nose, as the green led off into the horizon. She couldn't breathe, but she wasn't panicking, she was just motionless. A boot suddenly covered the panorama. Another boot swiftly kicked her over, so she was now looking into the bright blue sky.

Syxx stood above her, and put the pistol to her head. "I don't have time for you anymore. You just cost me my kill. Don't come back here again." Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

* * *

X

* * *

A gunshot rang in Krystal's head. Her eyes shot open, and her tail stood straight up. She was confused, and her head darted around as she was blinded by a crack of light that flooded the interior of the APC. The sound of the whistling turbine engine came to a halt, and the sound of hissing hydraulics filled her ears as the door folded downward onto the ground, becoming a ramp. Marines all around her slowly started filing out of the carrier

She panted, and took a deep breath, letting the Marines around her file out of the APC. When the last Marine was out of the APC, she got up and left, wielding her Staff. She just stepped off the ramp as it started to go back up to become the armored rear hatch of the carrier. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light, and she looked all around her. She was surrounded by four tall walls, in one section of the Post. There was a large central tower with bridges to the tall walls of the fortress. Each corner there was a tower smaller than the central one. At the top of each tower, there were snipers, and machinegun nests. All along the tops of the walls there were guards, and dozens of hangers within the walls of Katina Post. The fortress was separated into four quarters, one served as an airfield, one for fuel tanks, armour and transport, another for barraks, and the last for out going, and in coming transport. This one was heavily guarded, and it was the one she was in. It was held completely separate from the other three quarters, and MG nests were mounted on all four sides, pointing inwards toward them.

"Krystal?"

The vixen turned toward the voice. "Katt!"

The pink feline ran toward her, and they both hugged each other.

Katt then quickly let her go. "Do you smell that Krystal! Do you smell that fresh air!? Isn't it wonderful!?"

Krystal didn't know that Falco was standing beside Katt. "Wow Krystal, I didn't think that you'd beat us to the surface! What the hell are you doing back here so early?" He looked into her eyes. "I see you have the spirit already."

She smiled. "Yes. I've got a lot of stories to tell you."

Falco laughed. "You're not the only one. Look who decided to come along with us!" the avian motioned his wings. From behind him emerged a short figure with green skin. His knees were dirty, and there was oil stains on his orange and black jumpsuit. The toad had a silver wrench in one hand.

"Hi Krystal." Slippy Toad greeted the blue fox.

The vixen smiled nervously. "Hello Slippy."

There was an awkward silence. They hadn't all been together since StarFox had split. Katt was the one to break the ice.

"Come on Krystal. I'll get you a place set up, right next to mine."


	28. Against the Wall

**Authors note:**

_Been busy as hell, and probably open this document, once every day saying. "Okay, today is the day, this gets published." And then- do nothing. I'm going to make the poll for your favorite Rogue Fox Character an Open Poll now, to view results. You always still vote for your favorite._

_This ought to hold you guys over- for now._

_-sx_

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul**  
**XXVIII  
Against the Wall  
**_SyxxFox_

* * *

"_Silence your fear, we've got to move higher,  
High like the stars in the sky,  
Guiding us all,  
Battle the will of those who conspire,  
Take back the passion to live, relish the sorrow,_

_Destroys their perfect crime, watch the power fold,  
Search endlessly, fight till we're free,  
Fly past the edge of the sea,  
No bend in me, no mockery,  
Somehow we still carry on,"_

**Avenged Sevenfold – **_**"Carry On"**_

* * *

Though she had only been at the Out Post for a few hours, it felt like she had been there for days. She had her heart set on one thing, and one thing only. She wanted to get back to Corneria, and get the spirit back to Syxx. Day by day, the war became larger, and lives were lost, and taken into the virus of the infection. Inside the fortress, there were large armored hangers that housed ammunition, fighter craft, and barracks. In the basements below, commissioned officers were protected from the war. Though the outpost was relatively safe from infection, it was the last line that separated the Aparoids from the settlements which lay rest further north. As long as the Navy was able to keep the Aparoids at bay from space, and so far they had been able to do that, they still had a fighting chance to save Katina.

"I saw James McCloud."

The four Mercenaries sat around a table at the canteen. Krystal had just told them about how she had gotten the spirit, and how she had met James McCloud, and how he had helped her retrieve the spirit from the Palace. When she told them, they all listened, in full attention. She couldn't tell if they were looking at her in disbelief, or in surprise wanting to hear more. The table got awkwardly silent, and her question was answered. Skepticism. Forks and knives dropped to the plates, making sharp _clinks_. Everyone at the table turned their heads toward her, and for the longest time no one even said a word. She was sure that they all thought she was lying, but it was all true. This was a long shot. But, for everything that has been happening, maybe it was just plausible.

"Wait." Falco tried to wrap his head around the matter. He was the first to say anything after the long pause. His voice broke the silence. "James McCloud? Fox's old man? He's been dead for longer than Fox has!"

Slippy agreed immediately, barely giving Falco enough time to even finish his statement. "Yeah, when Andross first wage his war on us! Ask Peppy! Peppy was there!"

Falco crossed his arms. "Besides, Krystal. Why would James help you? I mean, yeah the Krazoa and everything makes sense to us, but not to anyone else. And to add insult to injury, lots of folks still think you had something to do with Fox."

Slippy butted in again. "Well, the media didn't help with that one."

The small fox's ears lowered for a moment. "Thanks for reminding me." Her ears then shot back up again. "I don't know. I don't know why he helped me." She swallowed hard. "I'm not making this up."

The avian leaned back into his chair, and paused before speaking. "What did he look like?"

Krystal tripped over her tongue. "He-He wore a jacket, and with sunglasses, and he-he flew in with an Arwing, an old one. A really old one. I know it was him. He told me! He knew my name! He knew everything about Fox!"

Katt put a paw on Krystal's. "Hun. Almost everyone knew everything about Fox. He must have been an imposter, who else could it have been?"

Slippy cut in. "Wait-wait. You said you saw an Arwing?"

Krystal just nodded.

"Ya' know Falco, there's not many Mark 1's left. Most of them got scrapped. I don't know where you'd find one now. Maybe on Kew. But that would be it."

Falco huffed stubbornly. "I'm sure there's some rebels around that still use it."

Katt agreed. "There are a lot of renegades around Kew. They'll say anything if they think they can get a few bucks out of a guy."

"No!" Krystal snapped. "You don't understand! He didn't ask for anything! He just wanted to help me." She paused. "Why doesn't anyone believe me?"

There was an awkward silence around the table once again. Everyone looked at their hands, not wanting to make eye contact with Krystal. She could feel that she was being closed in on. She had to find something to say, something that would win them over.

Slippy spoke up. "It's not that we don't believe you Krystal."

Falco crossed his wings. "I don't." He closed his eyes.

Katt smiled. "It just… doesn't make sense. That's all Krystal."

Slippy agreed. "If James was still alive, why wouldn't he come back? He hasn't been there before, why would he be there now?"

"Yeah… we sure could use him now…" Falco trailed off. "What happened to him?"

Krystal took a deep breath. "He just left."

"What was the last thing he said? Did he say if he was coming back? Did he say anything?" Slippy asked. "He was smart! If anyone knows how to stop this war, it's him."

"That's why he was there. He was looking for a way to stop the war, just like I was. That's why he helped me." Krystal put her paws together over the table, and she shut her eyes. "The last thing he told me was, to be careful."

"Be careful?" Falco asked. "Some advice..."

"He told me that if the Slayer gets the spirit," she flashed her glowing blue eyes, "he could become stronger than ever."

"What are you saying?" The avian asked again. "Are you saying that that damn black fox is trying to trick us?"

"Black fox?" Slippy subtly asked.

Krystal just simply shrugged her shoulders. "James thinks if he obtains the Krazoa, he may become unstoppable."

"Then what do we do?" said Katt.

Falco answered. "We have no other option. If we don't do something, we're going to lose this war. We've thought of everything else, and even if it doesn't work- we're damned if we do, we're damned if we don't."

There was a moment of solemn silence cast over the table, as everyone took their time to reflect on what the avian had just said. But it was true, and someone had to say it. In the situation they were put in, there was only one option. They had to try something.

"I need to get back to Corneria with the spirit, so that we can stop the fighting. The sooner that we can stop the Aparoids, the sooner we can take back Corneria."

Slippy sighed. "I hate say this guys, but I don't think we can take Corneria back. Not anytime soon. Not with destruction like that."

Katt gasped and glared at the toad. "So what are you saying?! We just leave all those innocent people down there to die?!"

"Hey!" snapped Falco. "Let's worry about Corneria, after we stop this war. Not before. I'm sorry Katt, but there is nothing that we can do for those people right now. And when we can, you can be sure that we will."

Katt just nodded slow, and slunk into her seat, disappointed at the outcome.

"I need a ship." Said Krystal.

Falco put his wingtips together. "I know we just got here, but it seems to me like Krystal is a high valued target. I know Peppy told us to stay here, and help. But if Krystal can't get back, then this war might be already over. We have to make sure that you get back, Krystal. How did you get here anyways?"

"I crash landed on Katina after the AA-Guns shot me down."

"So the Arwing is shot?" Falco asked.

"Well not exactly…" the vixen trailed off.

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"The Arwing is on Sauria. I didn't have time to get back to it. I had to steal a ship. I had to steal a Hook Echo."

Slippy jumped out of his seat, he started choking on his water, and started coughing and hacking before he was able to speak. "You got to fly a Hook Echo!? Where is it now?"

"Somewhere in the forest. In a million pieces. But it's too late Slippy. The Aparoids have taken the area. Besides, it was nearly completely destroyed. And you can thank your army for that one."

"What do you know about the Hook Echo, Slippy?" asked Katt.

"I work fox SFX! I helped build the Hook Echo!"

"Then maybe you can help us. We've fought them before. I brought a single one down on Suaria, but haven't seen one since. They were tough. What's their weakness? Sharp banks? The belly?"

Slippy paused to think. "Well Falco, they don't really have a weakness. When we designed them, we designed them with as little moving parts as possible. They're light weight, efficient and fast. Just what the Slayers needed to get in and out, undetected. They don't even show up on the radar most the time! Expensive though."

"Wait… Slippy? How much do you really know about the Slayers?" Asked Falco.

"Well." He paused. "I was on the engineering team for their equipment. I've known about project Slayer since the very beginning. I was senior engineer on both Hook Echo, and the Vortec. And I tell ya, if you ever get your hands on one of those Mapaws, you'd really want to hang onto it."

"You knew about this all along!?" Falco snapped.

"What was I supposed to do? I was sworn to nondisclosure. You should have seen all the forms that I had to sign saying that I was going to keep my big mouth shut. I couldn't just go around telling everybody what the government was doing. I'd get marshalled for that."

"Whatever." Falco crossed his wings. "How do we beat the Slayers then? What's the best way?"

Slippy laughed. "You don't beat a Slayer! You steer clear of them, and stay out of their way while they're around! Especially Syxx. He was a particularly nasty fella'."

"Who's Syxx?" Falco asked as if not knowing, testing Slippy, and trying to get more information about the black fox.

"Syxx was probably the meanest of all the Slayers. He's what gave them their reputation! Hard to catch, and even harder to kill! You don't want anything to do with him."

Krystal twiddled her thumbs around the coffee cup. "He's the one that I caught."

"What!?" Slippy questioned.

"She's right!" Katt exclaimed. "Krystal caught him!"

"You caught Syxx?" He asked again. "That's the Slayer you guys are talking about?"

The vixen just nodded. Twiddling her thumbs, she remained silent.

"Listen." It was as if the toads green skin had turned white. "You've got to be really careful around him. It may not seem like anything more than condescension, but he is really sneaky. In training alone, he killed over a dozen Marines. And if it's Syxx that you have in captivity, then all the better we get back earlier."

Falco sat up in his seat. "Tell me a little more about this guy." He took a personal interest in the Slayer. He himself was a condescending fellow, but the attitude of the Slayer surpassed even the stubbornness of him.

"Every Slayer was trained in every tactical art. Rifle, CQC, sniper. The Slayers excelled at stealth combat and Syxx especially. He wasn't just good at everything. He was great. He could do it all. The one thing we couldn't do, was fit in."

The Falcon pointed his beak into the air, being stubborn. "He ain't such a big man. We destroyed his perfect crime, and watched his power fold."

Slippy swallowed hard. "He'll always have power, Falco."

Katt tilted her head. "What do you mean? You mean he didn't fit in with the rest of the Slayers?"

"Syxx couldn't fit into a crowd. He failed every situation where he needed to act as a stealth agent and fit in with society. He has trouble getting along with those who consider themselves authority figures; he has a hard time infiltrating with a false identity. Syxx liked to force his way in. Doesn't help us out much now though. Not much society to fit into. The one thing he did have though- he had a habit of disappearing. I bet he hasn't given that up."

"Then it's settled." Falco added. "We've got to get back to Corneria. But how do we get Krystal back without a ship?"

Slippy yawned. "I've got some pull with SFX around here. I can get us a Savage dropship."

"Too slow. Too big. Anything else?" The avian asked the toad.

"I'll only be able to get one ship if we leave them the Renagade I came in on. The only other option is a Freon. They're suited for fire support, but they are more than enough for space combat if you know what you're doing. It'll take two to operate though. It takes a pilot, and a gunner. It's larger than the Arwings, but it's just as fast, and we'll be a smaller target than a Savage. It's going to take a day before I'll be able to secure one though. These guys need all the horsepower they can get."

Falco brushed his wing across the table. "I wish we could afford a Freon or two. StarFalco would really be able to benefit from having one of those."

Krystal's back arched straight up. With all the other things going on, she had completely forgotten about the money that she had come into. She put out her forearms on the table, and weaved her paws through each other, locking the fingers. She stared down at them. "Slippy. How much do one of these Freons cost to buy?"

The look he gave her was a little surprised. He took a moment to think. "Well… one outfitted with Plasma Cannons, and Nova Threads, would be in the tens of millions. Twenty five million I'd say."

She closed her eyes with a smirk slowly rising up the side of her muzzle. "If I said I could have the money for SFX right now, how soon could you get us one?"

The table turned quiet in confusion. Everyone stared at Krystal. She could feel them questioning themselves, and questioning her.

"We need to get off this planet don't we?" The vixen spoke again. "On Sauria, I came into some money. An organization, that I used to work for, who contracted to the Cornerian government. There was a bounty on A Slayer's head. Syxx. When I turned him in, I claimed that bounty. The funny thing is, I didn't even know that I did it. The money got transferred to me just a day or two ago."

Falco eyed her, intrigued, yet suspicious. "How much money we talkin' here?"

Krystal reached across the table, and slid Slippy's hollow-tablet over to her. She pressed her paw to the screen, and ran her claw tip across the display, typing in numbers. She could feel each and everyone's mind grow more and more eager as she typed. It was no small sum, so as she hit each button, everyone's heart lit up in anticipation. She could sense it in their heads, and hearts. She checked over the digits, making sure that it was the right amount. She slowly passed it over to Falco, and he swiped it out of her paw with is wing, killing his suspense.

The avian stared down at the number. And his eyebrows rose, and he stared at it. He then looked at her, and he asked the question in his own head, and Krystal, being able to read his thoughts, just nodded.

Katt then swiped it out Falco's large wing. "Lemme' see that!" She looked down at the pad. The feline wasn't quite as subtle. "What?! Really?"

Slippy was the last to receive it. He looked down at the number. She watched his eyes, as the read the entire length of the number. He set the panel down flat on the table, and slowly bobbed his head up and down.

"How soon can we leave?" Falco asked

Slippy thought for a moment, he was in shock. "If Krystal is serious about this purchase, and I go now, I can have one for us in the morning. First thing."

"Krystal?" Katt and Falco spoke her name in question, at the exact same time.

Katt put her paw on the vixen's lap. "Are you sure that you're comfortable with this?"

Krystal smiled sweetly at the feline, and everyone else in the group. "Yes. That's just fine with me. For all that you've done for me, I would be happy."

"Do it. That'll be the plan."

"I'm on it!" Slippy leaped out of his seat, and darted out the door. "I'll just need a pre-auth on that account information Krystal! And a deposit!"

Falco turned back to Krystal. "You didn't have to do that."

She smiled back. "I wanted to. You guys took me in, when I had nothing, and when no one else would trust me. Thank you."

"You look like you need some rest. Think you'll be ready for tomorrow kid?"

"I will." The blue fox nodded.

"Look Krystal." Falco leaned into her from across the table, and put his wings over her paws. "I know that the last few days have been really tough on you, but I need you to pull through with us on this. You think you can do that?"

Krystal nodded simply, with her eyes shut. She growled softly, feeling belittled. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Alright. Katt? You want to show Krystal to her bed? I'm going to go make sure that everything with Slip is all ready for tomorrow morning. One of us will come by later on, just to make sure that all the accounts are in order. Thanks again Krystal."

Krystal giggled. "Don't let your head get too big Falco, it'll be my ship."

"Yeah-Yeah, whatever."

The pink feline smiled up at him. "Sure thing Falco. Come on Krystal. Let's go."

Krystal finished her coffee, and got up from the seat with Katt's help. They both slowly strolled out of the canteen and out the doors to the outside. The sun was beginning to set in the sky. Krystal couldn't believe that all this happened so fast. Just this morning, she had woken up on the ground next to her ship.

They slowly made their way to the barracks at the other side of the fortress. Krystal was happy to see that within the shelter that they had their own room. Katt closed the door behind them. A dim plasmatic light illuminated the room around them, revealing two cots, and a small box between them for storage. They even had their own small shower and bathroom. And after a short shower, Krystal was able to change into some of Katt's extra clothing. A simple white t-shirt, and brown cargo pants. The room was finished with a dirty silver-grey. The vixen took a seat on the cot, and pulled the fire blanket over her lap. The fox was exhausted, both mentally and physically. She still had thoughts of horror, of the ruthless creature that hunted them through the woods; the unstoppable giant of steal. It's thought patterns weren't quite absent, but they were very subtle. It was some elite and specialized Aparoid. Something that she never hoped to encounter ever again.

Katt took a seat across from her. "You alright hun?"

"I am. Thank you. I'm just very tired. That's all. It's been a very long day. A lot to take in. A lot has been changing, Katt."

"I feel like you're not telling me something."

Krystal took a deep breath. She couldn't take it anymore. It was killing her to know. She took a deep shuttering breath, and let it out. Her whole body was tense. She tucked her paws together, between her legs, and sat on them.

Krystal read Katts mind. "I _know that you know something."_

Krystal closed her eyes, solemnly. "Katt… Fox isn't …"

Her statement was broken, as there was a sudden abrupt knocking on the door. A voice came with that knocking. "Hey, you guys decent in there, or what?" Falco.

"That was fast." Katt sat up from the cot, and opened the door. "Come in sweetheart."

Both Falco and Slippy were there. There was no hesitation. No greeting. They had a lot to do. Slippy handed her his hollow-pad. "All you have to do is sign, Krystal. And scan your card across the encrypter. Me and Falco will take care of the rest."

Krystal did as she was told, without saying a word. She took the stylus out of the toad's hand, and moved it across the screen, making an artificial signature. She could see the machine thinking, as it ran her signature through the database, to see if it matched with the card that she had waved through the hologram just moments before. It was soon accepted, and she gave it back to the toad.

He graciously smiled at her. "Alright, I'll make sure that it's here bright and early guys!" With that, they both left suddenly, shutting the door behind them.

Falco's voice echoed down the hall. "Finally, a stroke of luck."

Katt smiled as they ran off. "That was a quick business call. Now," she turned her gaze back to Krystal, "what were you about to say, dear? Something about Fox."

The vixen smiled awkwardly, and nervously. "Oh, I was just going to say that I wish Fox was here."

Katt, the pink feline smiled sweetly at her. "Still not quite over it?"

"I don't think I ever will be, Katt. But it's time to silence all fear and move higher."

Katt patted Krystal on the lap. "He'd be very proud of you Krystal. You and everything that you have done. You're really following his footsteps. His legacy lives on, through you."

"And somehow, we still carry on." Krystal nodded slowly, and closed her eyes. "Thank you Katt."

She couldn't believe that she almost gave her secret away. Krystal couldn't believe that she almost told someone. She had no idea what she was to do about it. It was only a matter of time now, before everyone would find out. When they find out, that she knew- she questioned if she too, would be prosecuted. She knew she would have to tell someone soon. Katt seemed like her only friend in the world. The only one that she could open up to now was the pink feline lying in the bed across from her.

Her smiled grew, as Katt rested her back against the wall, right behind the cot. "And in a way, I think Fox is still alive."

Krystal rested her body on top of the fire blankets, and put her paws behind her head, slowly closing her eyes. She whispered very lightly, and softly. "More than you know."

"Hmm? What did you say Krystal?"

"Oh! I was just yawning and mumbling. It was a long day."

"It's for you to rest now, hun."


	29. Assault

Author's Note  
_Poll for your favorite Rogue Character will remain Open! Results should be open to fans right away. And since Kyla turned out to be the favorite character- anyone with that vote might appreciate this chapter._

_The Rogue Fox Art Wall is down? What? No! The Rogue Fox Art Wall has been moved! You can find all your information, media, updates, abstract and more, at…_

But, be patient, the site is still being worked on.

_-sx_

* * *

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul**  
**XXIX  
Assault  
**_SyxxFox_

* * *

"_I am what you fear most, I am what you need,  
I am what you made me, I am the American dream,  
I'm not selling out, I'm buying in,_

I will not be forgotten, this is my time to shine,  
I've got the scars to prove it, only the strong survive,  
I'm not afraid of dying, everyone has their time,  
I've never favored weakness,

_Welcome to the pride"_

**Five Finger Death Punch – **_**"The Pride"**_

* * *

"Ready up."

The world was shadowy. Dark and lonely. But, it was broken by a sharp beam of light, as a large, steel hatch, slowly folded down, exposing a racing body of water shortly beneath it. With it, came a whirlwind of air, and the screaming of black matter turbine engines. They flew low, and close to the water as it misted and white capped from the air flow of the ship that Krystal was in. It jostled back and forth in the wind, as it knocked it around. As the beam of light illuminated the inside of the Savage, across from her, sat a black Fox, in sleek and powerful black and silver armor. Ammo belts, pouches, and other combative gear hung off the Vortec, but all that was visible was his head and his slowly waving tail. On the shoulder of his suit was a black and white star, painted on a guard. Under it, it had two numbers. "66"

"Fox?" The vixen asked. She put out a paw reaching to him, now realizing that she too was clad in the same armor that he was, giving her a shock. She rolled her fingers in and out over her paw examining the glove, and losing focus.

The black furred man turned his head quickly, and narrowed his eyes at her, glaring. "Pull yourself together." He spoke in his deep voice.

He swiftly tossed her a black helmet with a silver face shield. She caught it, as it was pushed into her chest by the force he used. She looked down at the silver mirror and gasped. Air cut the back of her throat sharply. Her luxurious blue fur had disappeared. Her fur was now red, with short brown hair. Two swift black marks of fur scored by her nose She was staring back at a stranger. Yet not so strange. She held the helmet with one paw, as she ran the glove across the small black marks of fur on her nose. She stared at the mirror, before she put the helmet aside, and ran her gloves across her white tipped, red tail.

"What's going on?" She looked up at the Slayer.

He said nothing though. He continued to stare out of the back of the craft. She struggled; looking at the mark on the side of her armor, and soon after used the mirrored helmet. Though it was backwards, it only took a moment for her to see what it said underneath the star. "39"

The next time she looked at Syxx, she was just in time to catch a heavy weapon that landed in her paw, and lap. Her body took control from there. Without even telling it to, she held the weapon into her chest, and slipped a battery into the bottom of the Sniper Rifle. With one quick slash of her paw, she shot the bolt forward, and readied the weapon.

She was completely out of control of her body by now. It was like it was set to auto-pilot. She stood up from the seat. The fox walked to the back of the ship, and just as Krystal thought she was going to walk off, she stopped, and held onto the grab-bar near the bay door, and stared out over the ocean.

When Krystal next spoke her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. It wasn't her voice. It was someone else's that resonated up through her throat. "Resistance?"

Syxx stepped out in front, and beside of her, on the other side of the ship. He still didn't wear a helmet. The Gatling Gun was strapped on him, and hanging on his side. His silky black fur and white head tuff waved in the wind. "Heavily guarded. I don't plan on a big fire fight."

She huffed. "By the looks out your load out, it looks like you do plan on a firefight." Krystal spoke again, in Kyla's voice. "What kind'a tac we up against?"

"Mostly hired goons with tech from the Lylat Wars. Shouldn't be a problem. We get you to the high ground. At night fall when the storm blows in, I'll use it to cover my approach, and retrieve the package. You guide me in, and keep my tail out of trouble. You screw up, I pay for it. One stray shot and I have a whole f-ck-ng militia chasing my a-s, so don't mess up."

Krystal giggled. "Don't worry Syxx, I've got you in my arms."

He looked over his shoulder at her, and growled. He smiled sinisterly, showing off a golden fang in his top jaw. He glanced back, looking at her with the only eye she could see. "Be swift. Be silent."

The smile made a chill go through her bones, and run down her spine. Syxx put his helmet on with one paw, and Krystal could see the face of the red fox in the reflection of his visor staring back at her. She then swiftly put her helmet on as well. It hissed as it made a seal with her suit. And as that happened, she got light headed, and woozy. She tightened her grip on the handrail, and stumbled. She put her paw over her helmet, trying to regain her footing.

"Control, this is Sixty-Six. Kyla's having some problems with the metabolic boosters in her system." Syxx took off his helmet, watching her. He hung it on a clip at his side.

"This is control. Assessment."

"Unfit for duty."

"Copy that Sixty-Six. Abort mission, and return to base."

"Negative. I'm going in alone."

"Syxx, you require sniper support for this mission. You do not have clearance to proceed. Return to-" There was then silence as Syxx cut the chatter on the radio, silencing it.

He walked back into the depths of the drop ship, and opened the hatch to the cock pit. "Keep going." He abruptly shut it after that.

"Syxx, I'm fine, let's do this." She was still hunched over. "You need me."

As she looked up, it was just in time, for her to see Syxx snatch the sniper rifle out of her paw, and threw his Mapaw rifle over his back, hanging on by the strap. "I don't need anyone." He cradled the sniper rifle in his arms. "And, this isn't up for debate."

"Syxx, you need help on this one." She spoke with Kyla's voice again. "Don't be stubborn." She had her arms wrapped around her stomach, hunched over in her seat. Krystal felt no pain though, only weakness, and lack of control.

"Thirty seconds." The voice from the cockpit came over the radio.

"Copy." The black fox returned.

"Syxx…" She stood up. "This isn't your decision to make." She put her paws back on the sniper rifle, and tried to take it out of the other Slayer's arms, but it wouldn't budge.

Syxx loomed over her, staring through the mirror and into her eyes. He bared his fangs, showing one gold tooth. "I know. I just have to make it for you!"

He pushed her off of himself, with the butt of the Sniper, making her stumble backwards. Before she could regain her footing, her stomach was met by a steel boot. The force of the blow was enough to send her flying backward within the drop ship. She could see her own arms, and legs follow behind her, and her tail streamline as she flew straight backwards. Krystal landed on the deck of the ship, and slid until she hit the wall that separated the bay from the cockpit, and came to a dead halt. The last thing she saw a silhouette of a man running toward the bay doors, and jumping out in the light, with a white tipped tail followed right behind him.

* * *

X

* * *

Syxx's eyes were shut lightly just enough to block the plasmatic light out of his vision. He didn't know how long that he had been locked up in here. His feet stung, he had been standing for so long. Every few hours, someone would try to come and feed him. But the black vulpine refused to eat. He didn't even feel that hungry. The part that was bugging him the most was boredom. His wrists were scarred and bloody from the cuffs that kept him strapped to the wall. Time became meaningless. No day. No night. Sleep was the only thing he could do to keep himself occupied. The struggling only made it worse. Every so often he would feel a jolt of electric anger run through his body, and have it in his head, convincing him that he had the strength to break free. And no matter how hard he tried, and how hard he pulled, and thrashed, the end result was always the same. Sometimes the frustration would only make him struggle harder, and only making it worse on himself.

But for now, he calmly opened his eyes as he heard the hatch to the outside of the compound open. He knew there were guards on both the inside and outside, but he could see neither from his cell. But he could sense their fear when they heard him struggle and howl. He slowly rolled his wrists around his shackles, and looked up at both the chains, then back down at his feet. He could sense someone staring at him through the glass, but usually they wouldn't ever open the door. This time they did, and it caused Syxx to dart his head up.

The vulpine watched a tall orange furred lion step into the cell. He was followed by six more security, and as the glass door opened, two stepped in, and holstered their pistols, which they carried on the way in. Each one grabbed his paw, and they tore him off the wall. They detained his paws behind his back though. Syxx wanted to burst out in pain as his bare foot stepped on the hard floor, in agony from being detained in an upright position. But he remained silent, and he stumbled toward the table in the room. The two guards slammed him down in the wooden chair.

Syxx grunted as his tail hit the seat. The guards let go of him, and Syxx glared up at one, emitting a deep growl from the back of his throat.

The fox then turned his gaze to the lion that sat across the table in front of him. He smiled, and laughed in a scratchy voice. "Lionel."

"That's Chairman to you, black fox." He returned the sentiment, of a low growl, already unimpressed with the vulpine.

Syxx smirked at him, and laughed dryly. "Chairman? Chairman of what?"

The large man frowned. "I trust you're ready to communicate with us now."

Syxx voice was faint, and seamed weak, even though he wasn't. "Why would you think that?"

"Five days without food, and two without water. I would imagine that anyone would be ready to talk."

Syxx laughed. "I didn't think that the Cornerian Government endorsed torture."

"A lot of things go on behind closed doors Syxx. You of all people should know that. And you know that you're the one refusing the rations. It's just making it easier for us."

"I guess it doesn't matter for those with diplomatic immunity huh?" He snapped back. "What's it like to have that privilege? Watch those who are under you, fight and die. Die at my hands for no reason."

"How is what you do any different?"

Syxx coughed dryly before answering. "If I'm sending my troops off to die, then I die with them. I fight the battle beside my brothers in arms. I'm above sitting in the office, barking orders and sending my brothers to their death."

"I'm getting really tired of this Syxx."

"That would make two of us." The vulpine snapped back.

"We have time Syxx. It's only a matter of that until you decide that you want out. We can keep playing this game, until one of us gets sick enough to snap."

"How much time do you really have mister Prime Minister? When winter comes, you'll all be cast out to hell."

"And you will be too!"

Syxx scratchy voice rumbled. "My fate has already been sealed…"

"There's still a chance. A chance for redemption. A chance to do the right thing."

"I don't seek redemption. What's stopping me from leaping across this table and killing you right now?"

The guards shuffled. Those who didn't already hold weapons put their paws on them, at the ready

The Prime Minister just laughed. "Myself and six armed men."

"I could have you dead before their weapons were drawn. I may go down, but so will you."

"I'll take my chances with you being outnumbered, which you seem to be at the moment."

Syxx smiled back at him. "Is this what happens when two unstoppable forces collide? You've been brought to edge of oblivion. The monuments that you protected, and everyone looked to for strength, now burn in ashes. This is what the beast you've created has brought you."

Lionel crossed his large cat paws together, and got up from the seat, in a deep sigh, turning his back to the dark fox. "If you're not going to talk, then what good are you to me?"

"I am what you fear most. I am what you need. I am what you made me. Anarchy."

"You are a sellout."

Syxx smiled showing his fangs. "I'm not selling out. I'm buying in. I've got the scars to prove that only the strong survive. I'm not afraid of dying. Kill me, and someone will take my place." Syxx sneered. "Oh and chairman." The lion turned around and stared down at him. Syxx continued. "I'm not alone. If I am not killed, I will escape. I will not be forgotten. This is my time to shine."

The man slowly sat back down in the seat. "I can see that you're not yet ready to cooperate with us." The lion motioned to the soldier behind him, with his eyes alone.

Before Syxx could react, his neck was pulled back and his jaw locked open with a set of paws. He growled viciously, but it was muffled by a steady stream of water that ran down his throat. He coughed and gagged, and it ran down his neck, and into his stomach. It lasted what seemed to be forever, before the chair was pushed over onto its back, taking Syxx with it. He landed in a puddle of water and saliva, and the next thing he knew, the glass door was closed, and a cool bottle of water as rolled across the floor to him.

He jumped from off the floor, and smashed his body into the glass. The wall and door rumbled beneath his might, but that was it. He was once again trapped within the cell. Still trapped.

* * *

X

* * *

Krystal hadn't slept so well, in a while. The strange dream of her in someone else's body didn't even phase her sleep cycle. Even though it was just a cot, in a small cold room, with an old fire blanket, it felt like heaven. The last time she had slept so well, she had been a member of StarFox, and it was one of the nights aboard the GreatFox in Fox's large private room, that he had been so kind to grant her while he slept in the lounge. That had happened right after the Suarinian incident, and she had never slept so well, feeling so safe.

The morning would come all too soon. She could hear Katt's and Falco's voice outside her door just before she had woken up. Katt patted her on the shoulder, and Krystal's eyes shot open. They glowed cool blue flame from the Krazoa Spirit that resided within her body.

The pink feline jumped back as her glowing eyes shot open. "Jeez! Don't do that!"

The vixen stretched and yawned. Her pearly white fangs shone cold silver in the dim light. "Is it morning already?"

"I'm afraid so."

Krystal's eyes fluttered half shut, and she rubbed them with her paws. Her tail lay flat next to her on the bed, and her ears drooped. She whimpered as she stretched once more, not wanting to get out of bed.

"How'd you sleep?" Katt asked her.

"Really good. Thank you." The vixen answered.

The blue fox quickly got dressed into her flight suit, and they made their way to the canteen, and got a quick breakfast. This is where they met up with Slippy, and Falco, who had just finished eating.

Falco greeted them as they sat. "Good morning."

Krystal grinned. "Good morning Falco!"

"Glad to see someone is feeling better." He smiled back. "We'll be ready to take off within the hour. Everybody ok with that?"

Everyone around the table nodded.

Slippy sipped at his coffee. "When we came through the asteroid belt the other day, the Aparoids were already nesting in the field. They weren't any problem, but that could quickly change on the way back. Have you ever operated a Freon before Krystal?"

"No." She answered. "But you have?"

"Of course!"

Krystal smiled, and closed her eyes. Her tail wagged behind her. She entered Slippy's mind. She could see herself within the ship, with both hands on the controls. She imagined herself working the targeting systems. She abruptly exited his mind, and it caused her to almost fall over in her chair, but she quickly caught herself. "I can do it now."

Falco smiled. "Good. Finish eating. We have to be at the ships soon. If we're not off the ground in forty-five, we'll have to wait until tomorrow."

The team quickly cleaned their plates, and put them in the automated dishwasher, that conveyed into the kitchen. They went back to their barracks, and cleaned them out. Krystal only had her staff, and her clothes. She had borrowed a brown flight suite from flight control that she now wore. Each member of Falco's team only had a duffle bag of clothes that would easily fit into the cargo bay of the Arwings.

When they got to the tarmac, the area was humming with the warm up of engines. Flaggers in orange jumpsuits roved around the airfield, and into, and out of hangers. Each one held two green glowing rods, and waved them around as aircraft were taxied out of the hangers. They wore large helmets, with thick sunglasses covering their eyes.

Krystal saw a man on a small orange machine that was hooked to a space craft; pull it out of the hanger. He pulled out a large blue and silver ship, with a red emblem painted on the side of it. It was followed by one more, identical Arwing. The next ship to come out was substantially larger. The small tractor struggled to pull it out of the hanger by its hitch. Four more men pushed the ship by the wings and dark matter engines. The ship was green, and about twice the size of an Arwing, it had two glass canopies, that were stacked, and set back on each other, as one pilot sat higher, and further back than the other. There's a cannon similar to the one of the Arwing on the belly of the craft. The diameter of the cannon was larger than the one on the Arwing, and with that there were two larger canons mounted on each wing, that paralleled multiple missiles. The craft looked like a giant dragonfly, with twin turbines below each wing, and a long tail. Cleary the ship was suited for firepower, but how would it handle in space? And in dog fights? Surely it wasn't built for that.

Slippy opened up the duffle bag that he carried. Inside were helmets, optics, and other gear.

Slippy handed Krystal a helmet. "Put this on. You'll need it."

Krystal picked up the silver helmet, and put it over her head. She tucked her ears into the slits of the helmet, so they poked up above the armored outside. A blue tinted visor slid down, covering her eyes. Small yellow blips of light flashed inside the visor.

HUD Disconnected  
Freon "Falcon-One"  
Targeting Offline

Slippy smiled at Krystal. "Hop in."

The vixen looked up at the large vehicle. She climbed the steps on the side and entered the hatch. She sat down in the front seat of the monster, and Slippy climbed up the side of the fuselage, and sat in the rear seat, where he would fly the craft from. They were both in their own separate cockpits within the ship. Krystal was on the tier below Slippy. She had never flown one of these craft before, but it looked simple enough. All she had to do was shoot.

When she sat down in her seat, the HUD on her helmet came to life.

MX2 Freon Online  
Freon "Falcon-One"  
Targeting Systems online  
Plasma Cannon Online  
Nova Threads Primed

Falcos voice crackled over the communications line. "Everybody ready?"

The ship began the whistle sharply. The air her began to rumble. Cross-hairs and what seemed like dozens of other small instruments appeared on her heads up display. It was all sprawled out nicely in front of her.

Slippy spoke to her through the radio. A speaker vibrated gently in her ear. "Remember Krystal, I'm counting on you to keep us covered. I can only do so much from up here."

Krystal slowly reached out and grabbed the single joystick that swung out just over her lap. There was a trigger behind the top, and a red button covered by a clear plastic door, next to three small arrow indicators, that glowed a soft red. The instrument panels in front of her lit up, and she could see from the belly of the ship outward on her heads up display. There was a square box surrounded by sight lines. The screen on the dash lit up with dust as the ship began to take off. She had a first person view of the canon's line of sight.

Krystal could see the Arwings circle in around them. It felt so strange to have no control over what was happening.

Falco's voice hissed on the radio. "Baseplate, this Star Falco. Permission to lift off."

"Copy that Falco. All systems are green. Clearance is Green. Go get 'em."

The heavy Freon lifted up from off the ground, and jumped straight into the air.

"How you doing hun?" Katt asked.

Krystal looked down at the controls, cocking her head. "Good I think."

After being in the air for a few moments, Krystal began to play with things. She roved the turret around, and got feel for the controls.

The radio crackled. "Baseplate, this is Fire Team Charlie. Multiple Tangos inbound to our position. Twenty plus boomers, fifty plus light infantry. Requesting fire mission."

"Copy that Charlie. StarFalco is in the immediate area. Will be enroute to your position." There was a pause on the Channel. "Falco, Charlie is requesting air support. It'll be twenty plus minutes before we can get to their position. Can you assist?"

"Copy." Falco replied. "Enroute to their location."

"We're uploading coordinates now, standby."

A white flash appeared on the radar.

"We've got'em Baseplate. We'll be on them in five minutes. We're going sonic. Punch it, Team!" Falco barked.

"Baseplate to traffic control. Standby for sonic boom."

"Where's that Fire Support Command?" A voice came over the radio.

"Star Falco will be at your disposal in five mikes."

"Copy Boss-man. Tell them to hurry."

The two Arwings ran out just in front of the Freon. Slippy followed their smoke trails of brilliant blue. "Ready for some target practice Krystal?"

Krystal firmed up on the controls. "Ready!"

The flight took no time at all. In the horizon, Krystal could see trails of black smoke in the air. Bright green and yellow explosions plagued the battle fields. She could see hundreds of tracers of bright yellow plasma flashing back and forth across the battle field. Dozens of Tanks smoked on the ground beneath them, as they burned in ashes.

Slippy barked out over the controls. "Fire Support online, Charlie. Mark the targets."

"Copy that!" in the background there was the rattling of a hundred weapons, and close explosions. He yelled out over the sound of the war. "Pop smoke!" Krystal could even hear their ships above them, hissing and roaring in the air. "Falcon-One! We're in serious trouble! Friendlies are marked with blue smoke! Engage everything to the west! Repeat! Everything that is not marked is hostile."

Slippy replied. "Copy that Charlie. Krystal. Do not engage smoke. Anything unmarked west of the smoke, is hostile."

Krystal flipped the safety catch up on her systems. "Alright let's give this a shot."

Krystal put the crosshair on a tall bug-like creature. The optics zoomed in a really long ways, making it easy. She pulled the trigger in, and for a moment, it did nothing. A sharp whine resonated through the hull, but in the next second the ground around the enemy lit up, as bright green tracers ripped through the air, heading downward. The Boomer exploded within a matter of two or three shots, and she was able to quickly move on to the next target. The heavy rail cannon cut through the ranks of the Aparoids, leaving them in piles of rubble. Krystal's paw hit the red button on the top of the command stick. She heard a sharp hiss, and a missile ripped out of the chamber. The ground in front Aparoids lifted and combusted. Debris was tossed into the air.

"Good Kill. Good Kill."

Arwings swooped across the field, making strafing runs, taking out whatever they could.

"Falcon-One, this is Charlie. New targets spotted to the west! Fire mission danger close! Target is designated! Light it up!"

A red square appeared on Krystal's heads up display. She turned the turret of the weapon toward it. She pulled in the trigger, and the target glowed, and sparked brightly as it was torn limb from limb.

Krystal smiled as she let off the guns. She thought she had done well. She grinned to herself. The victory was short lived through. Krystal could sense it before she heard it. Strange thought patterns. Different from any other Aparoid. Right on cue, an ear piercing screech cut through the air. It over-rode the screaming of the Freon's engines, and pushed the ship sideways

The radio went crazy with chatter.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Can anyone see it?"

"Star Falco, do you have eyes on?"

Just as Krystal was about to reply. The ground beneath the ships shook. A shockwave of dust plowed into the fighter. The Freon tumbled in the air, end over end. The engines howled, trying to regain altitude. Through the glass canopy, Krystal watched the sky and ground spin around her. She was pinned to the side of her seat from the force of the craft.

"Hang on Krystal!" Slippy yelled through the microphone.

Krystal was frozen in her seat. Her claws dug into the armrests, and her eyes wide. Alarms and red lights on the dash board lit up, and blared in her ears. The world continued to spin, faster and faster. See could feel that they were falling out of the sky, and there was nothing she could do. But soon, Slippy regained control of the ship, sharply spinning it just above the tree line, and rotated it back toward the sight of the blast.

"You ok Krystal?" Slippy asked.

She felt sick. Like she wanted to throw up. She felt green in the face. "I'm ok." She said drowsily. She shook her head. "Slippy look out!"

Just as she finished speaking, the Freon darted to the side sharply, getting out of the way of a long laser beam. Krystal could feel the heat through the canopy.

"Boss-man! This is Fire Team Charlie. We've been engaged by a Soul Aparoid! Requesting bomb run!"

"Negative Charlie. There are still civilians being evacuated from the area. We cannot air strike your location."

"All tanks! Engage at will! Blast that thing out of the sky!"

Krystal had encountered one of these before. A Soul Aparoid was capable of destroying entire fleets of ships. It was shaped like a giant butter fly. Waves of electrical thoughts raved through its wings, and its purple body. It opened its mouth and screeched. Krystal could see the sound waves rippling through the air.

"Engage! Engage!"

Any remaining Landmasters swiveled their canons, and opened fire on the creature. It quickly wrapped itself in its wings, and spun, sending a ray of plasma toward a line of tanks. It rippled across them. The Landmasters didn't stand a chance. It melted through their hulls, causing them to smolder and explode. Others continued to fire.

"Krystal! Hit that thing!"

The vixen used the helmet to target the monster. She pulled the trigger in, and listened to the plasma canon warm up, and churn before letting out a hell fire of rails. The burns scorched across its wings, and up to its head.

"That's just pissing it off!" Falco barked. "Katt and I will strafe it in thirty seconds. We'll make sure that it's wings are open for a nice clean shot!"

"Use the bombs! Krystal!" Said Slippy. "On your joystick, flip open the cover, and let 'em have it!"

Krystal quickly did as she was told. Before she pressed the button, she watched the Arwings quickly swoop in from below, and rip through its wings before passing by it, leaving behind only their blue-fire smoke trails.

She pressed the button on the joystick. And her HUD filled up with lettering.

Nova Threads Online.  
Targeting.

She heard the speakers in her helmet start to beep, faster and faster, as a red target slowly honed in around the head of the monster, tracking its weak point.

Target Acquired.

She hit the button once more. She had never been behind so much firepower. As the Nova's left their chambers they shot with an ominous, shimmering hum, like they were gliding through the air. She thought that only one would shoot. Instead four glided through the air. A moment after, the bombs after burners engaged, and they shook the small ship. Four bombs raced toward their target. Each hit its mark, one after the other, smashing into the creature's head. The fireball was massive. The shock hit the Freon making it bounce, sharply.

"Katt now!"

The two blue ships cut in from the sides. Each dropping Nova's in front of the creature. It lost its wings, and tumbled to the ground as the bombs hit their marks. The ground shook as the giant fly hit it. It squirmed for a short while, destroying trees, and crumbling rocks beneath it, before the Landmasters finished it off. They rolled in; crushing what was left of its wings

"Thanks for the assist StarFalco. We can take it from here."

"Copy that Charlie. Good hunting boys. StarFalco! Lets move out! We have to get to Cerneria!"

* * *

X

* * *

A sandstorm ripped through Corneria City. Pyro couldn't even see the Military Complex from where he was. Even his thermals could barely see that far. There were decayed bodies all around him. He was in range of the snipers. Though they had thermal vision, the sand would help him get closer. He knew that they could see him, but there was nothing they could do. Though the planet was dead, he could still hear radio chatter, throughout Corneria City. Rebels, Militias, and even the Corneria Police department were all broadcasting.

Pyro had a habit of talking to himself when he was alone. He held his Mapaw rifle in his paws. He jumped up and down in place. "Ok buddy! Don't you worry! Pyro's coming for you!"

He stretched out his arms, legs, and his back, and stared into the abyss. Without thinking he went for it, running, but he quickly circled back to where he was just standing.

"Ughhhh! Ok!" he patted his helmet with his free paw, within the armoured glove. "We gonna' do this!" He stared. "We gonna get the fox out. And then, we gonna' go to the bar!"

Pyro stalled. He dropped his weapon to the ground, and put his paws on both his knees, hunched over. He tossed his helmet to the ground, letting it bounce across the pavement. He laughed hysterically. "Hahaha!" He covered his face with both paws, speaking into heavy gloves, as his voice muffled. "I don't wanna' do this!" A huge smile ran across his muzzle. "Ahhh, this sucks so much."

He grabbed his weapon and stood back up. "Ughhh! Syyyxx. You're killin' me buddy."

Pyro let out a long sigh, and yelled. "F-ck it!" he bolted toward the complex, snatching his helmet off the pavement as he ran by it, and slipping it right over his head, at a full out run. "You better still be alive, you f-ck-r."


	30. Showdown Pro

_A/N: Thanks "Poofy". My new beta reader._

* * *

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul**  
**XXX  
Showdown Pro  
**_SyxxFox_

* * *

_"I could never be,  
What you want me to,  
You pulled me under,  
To save yourself,  
You will never see,  
What's inside of me,  
I pulled you under just to save myself,"_

**Five Finger Death Punch **_**– "Coming Down"**_

* * *

How long had he been locked in this prison? Syxx wondered with every passing hour if it had been days or weeks. No day. No night. No sound. Several times now they had come to interrogate him, trying to force an answer from him. Tie him up, take him down, and tie him up again. He learned to savor the few bits of freedom he had from his chains. He trained via push-ups, sit-ups, and combat training. Anything to keep him focused while simultaneously passing time.

They wanted to know how to stop the war, but Syxx was as clueless as they were. He wouldn't tell them that though. He feared looking Peppy in the eye, and thought on more than one occasion that Peppy was going execute him on the spot. That wouldn't happen though because they needed him now. He had little time to escape before Krystal returned. She was getting close. Very close. He loathed her. The years he spent harnessing his mind's eye to nothing were all wasted. While he slept, his mind was vulnerable to her strong Cerinian senses.

The black fox glanced up at his wrists which were retained by glowing blue plasma cuffs and high tension chain. They were nearly unbreakable. They would release him for a brief time every few hours to allow him to stretch. He would train during this short time.

Syxx rolled his head around his neck, a loud cracking noise being heard a moment later. He sighed deeply, knowing he had to find a way out of here. A deep growl rumbled in his throat as he pulled on his chains, his will quickly deteriorating as the chains held firm. He stood in silence a moment longer before he heard the blast door at the end of the hallway slowly creak open. Syxx prepared himself for another confrontation, but he knew this time that something was different. He heard the door at the end of the hall suddenly swing open, the airborne body of a soldier soon flying down the hallway and right past his cell.

"Aghhhh!" The soldier slammed against the wall and rebounded a short distance before collapsing to the floor. The blast door slowly creaked shut, the sound of a thick bolt turning echoing through the hall. Syxx's heart rate accelerated in excitement as he listened to heavy boot steps tap their way closer to him. A silver and back figure stood on the other side of the glass. It looked down, and picked the SMG off the marine.

"It's about f-ck-ng time." Syxx let out a big sigh.

Pyro just shrugged and slammed the butt of the gun into the door. He'd quickly give up on that and hold his Mapaw in one glove with the SMG in the other. He unleashed a hell fire of plasma bolts that shredded, melted, and cracked the glass, yet not a single one punctured it. With one mighty kick, the glass door broke off the hydraulics and gave in.

Pyro pressed the Mapaw into his holster and pulled a long rifle out from behind his back. He didn't even bother to look down the scope as he hip fired the gun. With one pull of the trigger on each cuff, the wire melted and the cuffs disappeared. He reloaded with a swift slide of the bolt and fired once more, breaking the second cuff.

"You look like sh-t, bro."

Syxx dropped down and immediately started stretching out his back and legs. "What the h-ll took so long?"

"You're at the bottom of a twenty story base that's filled with guys who want to kill us." Pyro took off his helmet and hooked it on his belt. He scratched his sweaty matted fur with a huge grin over his face. "I did good!" Pyro handed him the SMG, a lean black tac vest, and a bandana. "We're gonna have to find you a suit or something. We're going to get you out of here. Where's the Votec?"

Pyro tossed the SA2 Heavy Sniper Rifle to Syxx who easily caught it with both paws.

Syxx quickly geared up. "Forget it. That thing got baked before I got captured. It's no good. What have you heard from the other teams?"

Pyro hesitated. "Now ya' see... That's where it gets awkward."

Syxx tucked his ears into the red bandana and slipped them through the slits. "What do you mean?"

"They think you've gone off the deep end, Syxx."

The vulpine quickly turned to him, showing slight sings of both frustration and confusion. He let the action of the SMG shoot forward with a metallic snap. He slung it over his shoulder and cradled the SA2 Heavy Sniper Rifle in his arms.

Pyro continued. "They think you've gone power crazy and are unnecessarily risking their lives to fulfill your own vengeful agenda."

They hung in silence for a long moment with their eyes locked before Pyro went on. "They've abandoned you. They've left this war."

Syxx, grasping the weapon firmly, put his finger on the trigger of the sniper rifle and raised it halfway. His gun pointed right at Pyro's stomach. "Do you share their belief?" He considered that Pyro was here to kill him despite the fact that Pyro was his only friend in the world. He had to be careful since he never put anything above a Slayer.

"Put that f-ck-n' thing down!" Pyro just laughed. "I've stuck with you through some tough sh-t. You've always pulled us through. I'm just along for the ride." He grinned. "I ain't got anywhere to be! Besides, I'm here now. Aren't I? Could have just left your hide to rot here, eh?"

The fox sighed in relief. "Well, we have some hunting to do when we're done here. Let's finish this. The ammo deposit is on the fifth floor. We blow that, then, destroy their water and green house. That'll starve them or force them to compete with the militias."

"Yeah, they're just chew toys if they have to compete with the militias."

"Then we find a way off this planet. We find a Slayer and kill 'em, but leave the armor intact."

Pyro locked the helmet back on his head. "Sounds like a challenge for once."

"Ready to start the show?"

"Let's spool 'er up ."

Syxx pulled off his stained white T-shirt and put on the black tactical vest. The darkly-colored vest, which was pressed directly to his bare chest, blended in with his fur. He pulled back the bolt on the sniper rifle. "Alright. Swift and silent. Let's move."

* * *

X

* * *

The Arwings whistled in and were followed by the screech of the Freon gunship. They roved about the complex, hovering low. A bad storm had blown in, causing the Freon to shift around in the air. It was being pushed back and forth due to the heavy winds. The vixen looked for the fallout shelter in all the sand that blew around them. They were almost flying by instrument only now. Her eyes, glowing a bright fiery blue as the spirit dwelled within her body, searched for a suitable landing area that she could point out to Slippy.

When she spotted the building, she could see a Marine using bright green flares on the roof to direct her in. She spotted a square area with more flares marking where they would be able to land.

Krystal spoke through the radio. "Slippy. There."

"I see it. Falcon One to ground. Are we clear for landing?"

"Copy. We're standing by on the ground." She recognized the voice to be that of the black op husky that often acted as an escort to her.

Slippy turned the ship around and angled the thrusters for a landing. They could barely even see the markings with the storm coming in, thrashing red and white ash everywhere. The winds attempted to push the craft off course as it wobbled in the air. The craft blasted up a whirlwind of red dust around the Freon upon landing, quickly coating the recently grounded ship crimson. The harsh winds, showing niether delay nor mercy, stripped the ship of the red ash coating it. The thrusters shutdown as she waited for the cloud to settle, but the storm raged on. It never rested.

She could see three figures, from the dust storm, approaching the gunship. The vixen opened the canopy to the cockpit and was immediately engulfed in a storm of sand and ash. Before she could even take in a breath, a gas mask was sealed over her muzzle and eyes. A thick fire blanket was tossed over her shoulders as she was pulled from the cockpit. It'd protect her from the radioactive firestorm.

She'd walk hunched over as the husky put her arms over the vixen's shoulders to seal the blanket around her. Two other Marines walked beside them with their weapons at the ready. She could already tell something was up. Was she too late?

They hurried along until they reached the heavy storm door where they'd walk past the snipers and into the complex. It was nearly pitch black on the upper level. Everyone removed their helmets while Krystal removed her gas mask. The three soldiers jumped back. The only thing visible in the dark was the beautiful glowing eyes of the sweet little vixen. They burned fiery blue as the flame danced through her eyes. One Marine turned the lamp resting upon his gun on.

Krystal tossed the fire blanket aside. "What's happening?"

They continued to walk toward the blast doors that would lead them to the shelter below. Porter answered. "He escaped his cell. We have to move quickly. He won't be able to get out, but he will be taken down if we don't get moving." She took a moment to speak over the tac-com. "Star Falco, we are assigning you a gunner for the Freon. If anyone leaves this facility, light 'em up."

"Star Falco copies all." Replied the blue avian.

Krystal hissed. "What!? How!? How did he get out?!"

"We aren't sure right now. We think someone is there helping him. Maybe someone on the inside. One of our own, maybe? We don't know at this point."

The fox bit her lip, thinking to herself as the round doors swung open. A dark, dirty main floor paved way to the bright, clean shelter.

Krystal shook her head. "No. That's not right. It's not someone on the inside."

"Then who is it?"

"There was another Slayer tracking us when we left the surface. It's him."

Porter and Krystal froze on the stairway. "We've got two Slayers on the inside."

Krystal just nodded and tried to catch her breath.

Porter spun around and they continued down the stairs and deeper into the shelter. "This is Sergeant Porter to all points. We have confirmation that there are two Slayers in the base. Operate in fire teams. Do not approach the targets alone. Does anyone have a sixty on the targets?"

"Sergeant, this is Fire Team Bravo. We are tracking the targets now. They appear to be heading toward the ammo shelter. Permission to engage?"

Krystal panted. "Wait! You can't kill him! He's our last hope! If they get out then we're all doomed."

"Can you take them out without killing them!?" Porter replied back into the radio.

"A Slayer!? Not an option ma'am."

"Do not engage target. Where are they now?"

"Targets are approaching the east dining hall. The hall has been informed and evacuated. Multiple fire teams are en'route now. We'll trap them inside. We'll be ready when you get there! We'll standby to breach."

"East dinning… That's not far! Follow me!" The Sergeant barked at the vixen, "Maybe we can beat them to it!"

Krystal could barely keep up with the quick-moving predator. She jumped down staircases and slammed through doors, all the while passing people moving in the opposite direction.

The husky would bark at them, "Move!"

Before long, they slammed through a pair of swinging double doors leading directly into the silent dining hall. The entire hall was empty. Hundreds of plates of food were left unattended with a mixture of spilled drinks and half-eaten food scattered across the floor. Porter raised her weapon to her shoulder as soon as she entered and started moving at a half crouch through the hall. She was searching everywhere with the muzzle of her firearm. "Clear. Move."

Krystal briefly looked around before hearing gunfire from the opposite side of the hall followed by two figures slamming through the twin pair of doors at the end of the hall. They'd knock over various chairs and jump over tables. Porter hid at one end of the hall while Krystal ducked behind a pillar.

She waited until the pair was nearly to her before she removed herself from cover.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, "Hey! Fox!"

The reply was faster and more vicious than she could have ever imagined. He'd immediately spin on his heel the very second her voice reached his ears and unleash a hellfire of plasma. The wall around her was riddled with plasma scores as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the cover of the cafeteria counter. She didn't expect that. She jumped over the glass just as it was riddled. Shards of shattered glass showered the vixen as she landed behind the counter. She listened to the fox reload and, without even having her in his sight, open fire once again. She could feel both Slayers closing in on her. Not her best decision. She panted and gasped.

"Hey! Ugly!" Porter rolled out from cover and fired a glancing short toward Pyro.

The Slayer in the heavy armor responded without hesitation. Porter swore that she saw the armoured figure's head loop around the plasma bolt, flawlessly dodging the shot that she had just fired. Pyro dropped down on to one knee, locking in on Porter and engaging. The air around him was filled with electricity due to the swift slicing of the Mapaw.

"Take all and kill the rest!" Syxx barked at Pyro as he tossed him two plasma frags.

Pryo caught them both with one paw. "Copy." The Slayer kicked over a table and slid it against a pillar, creating himself some cover.

Syxx peppered the cafeteria with gunfire, shattering every pane of glass in the aisle. Krystal covered her head as shards of broken glass rained down on her. When the fox hesitated just for a moment, Krystal took her chance and bolted behind the counters. The muzzle of Syxx's SMG tracked her, plasma bolts splashing off the wall and causing the pots and pans in the kitchen to clang around loudly. Krystal kept her head covered with both arms while she ran.

Syxx tossed down another battery and continued to step toward her. He spoke in fluent Saurian. "_You're too late! Give it up!"_

Krystal's eyes went wide. She had never heard him speak in fluent Saurian before. Krystal responded in dino-talk. "_It's not too late! I can help you_!"

Syxx's eyes locked on where he had heard her voice come from. He'd begin to fire hisgunonce more, striking fear into her. "_I don't need your help! I don't need anyone's help!"_

Porter and Pyro dodged around the hall, taking shots off at each other when they got the chance. The Slayer was slowly pushing her back into the corner with superior combat skills coupled with hostility. Porter ducked behind a pillar. They slayer opened up, chipping away the edges of the wall with rails of the Mapaw. Porter was pinned and in deep trouble. She tried to peek around the edge of the cement pillar when his gun needed to cool, but she was only greeted with more fire as the Slayer closed in on her.

"Bravo standing-by."

The husky ducked down and spoke to the radio in her visor. "Uniformed target. Black and Silver. Green light bravo." She spoke softly and calmly into the radio.

Her wish was immediately granted as the swinging doors shot inward. The fire team quickly found cover behind what they could and opened up fire on the Slayer.

The warrior was just as fast to respond, though. He leapt off a table moments before the fire began and swiftly pushed the table down in front of him for cover. He blindly tossed a grenade over the table he had hid behind. He jumped over the table and filled the air with plasma a moment before the grenade went off, locking his sights onto the fleeing targets as they avoided the plasma frag. His plasma brought down one, then another. The hall began to fill with a thin smoke, from burning rubble and grenades, as the second grenade exploded. Pyro shot out all the lights he could see, leaving only a few remaining. He switched to thermals. The hall was dimly lit and filled with a haze, all due to the fires.

"Fox, stop this please! You have to trust me!" Krystal shouted from behind the counter.

Syxx fired off the last shot of the SMG's battery and tossed it to the floor. "Trust you!? Why the h-ll should I trust you!? You've caused me nothing but trouble!"

Syxx could tell Pyro was outgunned and pinned down. He knew that there were Marines filing into the hall, but there was only one target in his sites. Krystal peaked up over the counter as Syxx slapped the last battery he had into the weapon. She quickly ducked down as he opened fire on her once again, frivolously spraying the entire dining station.

Krystal's ears perked up as the shots stopped. She heard other gun fire. She shot her head up over the counter just in time to see Syxx get hit with two plasma bolts. Syxx grit his teeth as two hot green bolts of plasma slashed into his hide from behind. He took one to the side and one to the shoulder blade. The vest was only half as effective in these areas. It didn't do its job as well as it could have.

"No!" Krystal yipped. She was just about to jump over the barrier when her veins went ice cold. She thought that would be enough to drop Syxx, but she was wrong.

Syxx flattened his ears to his head and spun around faster than anyone had ever seen. He crouched to the floor while spinning, swiftly lowering himself to one leg and shooting under his opposite arm. The hell fire was let loose. The shots traced the wall before finding their marks on two Marines and bringing them to the floor as they were tossed backward by the bolts. Without a second thought, he'd spin a second time and bring himself to his feet. He held in the trigger as he spun, slashing a line across where Krystal had stood. Narrowly missing her.

He had two gunshot wounds on his body and never even flinched. He was almost completely unarmoured. Nothing protected him but a tactical jacket that was already melted to his hide.

"Come out and face me!" Syxx let out a hellfire of bolts once more, but the weapon's power would die before long. He tossed the weapons to the floor.

Krystal listened to the weapon hit the floor. This might be her only chance. She had to take it. The vixen lept over the counter, touching it with only a single paw. Her staff extended with a fierce metallic slice.

Syxx was ready for her though. Syxx locked eyes with her as he reached to his belt. He'd pull a knife from his belt with one rapid movement and send it careening towards her. Krystal spun her staff with one paw, tossing it to her other paw, and slashed the jewel through the air. An explosion of sparks detonated in front of her as she batted the knife away from her body.

The sparks cleared just in time to see the black fox reaching for a sniper. It was within his reach. Syxx rolled the sniper around his shoulder but Krystal knew he would have no time to fire. She leaped in the air and brought the staff down on him. She was wrong, though. He did have time to do something. He held the sniper above his head with both paws. The staff came down upon it and came to a dead stop after smashing through the optics, sending glass shards into Syxx's fur.

"Agh!" He yipped, turning his head.

Krystal could see gobs and gobs of blood on the stock and barrel of the rifle. All from Syxx's wound. It would be fatal if left untreated, but that realization didn't slow him down one little bit. He threw Krystal and her staff to the side as he pushed up and out.

"Fox, you've got to get some help! You're going to bleed out if you keep this up!"

The sniper was much heavier than Krystal's staff, but it delivered much more of a blow when or if he hit her. He wasted no time on his counter attack. He gripped onto the barrel with both paws and swung it over his shoulder like an axe, narrowly missing Krystal as she jumped to the side.

Syxx growled. "Stay still!"

Their weapons met once more, crossing at their centers. They pushed one another in an effort to shove the other down. Their faces came together at the center of the two weapons. Syxx looked into Krystal's eyes. They were vibrant and alive; an electrical, wavy blue. Krystal smiled to herself. Her telepathy kicked in to high gear. She drew Syxx closer and closer to her eyes as she pulled him into her soul. She could feel him begin to resist less and less. Syxx's eyes fluttered as he was drawn inward. He stared into her soul, into the vibrant blue of the Krazoa. He could see the figure of the Spirit in each one of her eyes. His vision tunneled into her as he began to submit. He saw only her head, then her face, and soon just her eyes. He watched the Krazoa slowly move toward him. He cocked his head, being hypnotized and entranced by the vixen's eyes.

"Aggghhh! NO!" Syxx shut his eyes and let out a burst of rage, tossing Krystal away. "Stay out of my head!"

Syxx rapidly kicked Krystal aside, sending her sliding across the floor on her side. She watched the fox put his paw on the front of the stalk. He slapped the bolt back and forth with his other paw, the action seeming like one quick movement. He rested his finger in the trigger guard and over the rounded trigger.

"No!" She screamed as she dropped down to one knee. She stabbed the crystal of the staff into the ceramic tile, the force of the thrust causing the tile to shatter.

_BOOOOM!_

A field of energy in the form of a small white dome, resonating from the tip of her staff, suddenly surrounded Krystal. Energy started falling down around her and encircling her like a fountain. The heavy projectile slashed off of it and continued on into the pillar beside her. It'd rip off a chunk of cement as it slid across a corner of the pillar, a plume of dust instantly rising up. She had her eyes closed when the shot was fired. She saw nothing until she peaked one eye open and witnessed the paw of the man lift again, drawing the bolt forward and back. Without hesitation, Syxx fired again. The heavy sniper rifle barked a defining report and blast of fire as the slug blasted out. Krystal shut her eyes again, the round bouncing off her shield for a second time and ricocheting into the ceiling.

She retracted her shield and leapt toward the Syxx before he could fire another shot. She could tell he was getting phsyically drained from blood loss, but it wasn't near enough for her to take him down yet. She had to do something before he lost too much blood. He was mad with rage and felt nothing. She upper cut Syxx, causing the barrel of the rifle to be pushed into the air. With the blunt end of the staff now facing him, she communicated with it in a way that only she could. She gave the black fox a quick blast of ice directly in his face.

He stumbled backward, holding his frosted muzzle and covering his eyes. The sniper rifle fell to the ground as he stumbled back, "Agh!"

Krystal capitalized on her opportunity, jumping him. Pressing the staff against his body, she brought him to the floor, with her landing on top of him. A short streak of blood painted the floor as Syxx continued to bleed. He took his paws off his face to see Krystal on top of him, holding him down with her weight. Frost was caked onto his whiskers and eyebrows. As he drew his paw away from his muzzle, his first sight was greeted by Krystal's fist.

Krystal smashed her right paw into his face. She hit him so hard that blood splashed out of his nose, staining her paw as well as the floor. She didn't stop at just that though. She wanted to, but she couldn't. The years of hell that he had put her through. Her heart that he had broken. The pain he caused. She couldn't stop. It felt so good. One paw after the other pummeled his face, hitting harder and harder. She tried to stop herself, but she couldn't. She had had enough. Krystal grunted as she punched him and soon her eyes began to water, but still she couldn't stop. Tears ran down her face and landed on his chest as she beat on Syxx. His face was covered in his own blood and yet she continued to deliver blow after blow. She hit him again and again. Her last punch was harder than any one she had given him. She pulled him up by the collar with her left paw and with her right delivered a blunt and destructive slice.

She was so ashamed when she finally managed to stop herself. So was so scared. She sat on him, straddling his body. She breathed heavily and hard. She brushed tears off of her face only to replace them with smears of the man's blood. The vixen looked down at his bloody face. There were cuts and bruises all over. His nose and mouth were leaking blood onto the floor beside her. There was so much blood. His left eye was already nearly swollen half shut, the rings of both his eyes bruised blue.

He moaned while turning his head to the side. He coughed up blood as it drained between his teeth. He struggled not to choke on it. His eyes didn't open though and the vulpine struggled to breathe; coughing, gasping, and making short moaning-groaning sounds.

Krystal held onto his head. "Fox! I'm-I'm so sorry!" Tears came to her eyes once again. "I didn't, I-I-I didn't mean to-to…"

He coughed like he was trying to say something, but it just came out as blood. His breathing started to become heavy.

"Fox…" She cried his name. She quickly pushed herself off of him. He took in a deep breath, half air and half blood, as the vixen got off his stomach. She couldn't stand to look at him anymore. But she'd turn around slowly as she heard the bolt of a rifle snap.

Krystal looked down toward the ground. Syxx held the rifle up toward her with one paw, the muzzle of the gun pointing right at her face.

He spoke between coughs. "Finish… The job."

"F-Fox."

He put his finger in the trigger guard. Krystal held her ground. She had one more trick. One that was surely never going to work. She concentrated all her energy into it. All the power she had. It was now or never. Her telepathy and telekinesis grew stronger, draining her. She concentrated all her energy onto one force point.

Syxx could feel something pushing on him, on the rifle, but he saw nothing. Nothing until the bolt of the rifle slammed back on him, leaving the chamber open. The black cylinder popped out from the chamber and spun in the air, landing just out of arm's reach. The weapon was empty. His last round had magically escaped from the weapon.

Krystal collapsed. She held onto her stomach, catching herself with her other paw before she hit the tile. Her forehead was sweaty, her palms scratched from her own grip. Syxx's head fell back into the floor, and he let the rifle down too, the weapon dropping to the floor with a hard clank. She watched him as he struggled to make any movement whatsoever, but with every inch that was gained he lost as his weakening body detained him. He reached for the round, slowly inching toward it.

This was truly her last chance. She gathered the last of her strength and stumbled over to him, crushing his paw with her boot as he grabbed onto the plasma cylinder. Syxx yipped loudly as her boot dug into his paw, the vixen twisting her foot and feeling bones crunch beneath it. The cylinder bounced away and tumbled underneath some tables, disappearing as Krystal dragged her boot over Syxx's paw, force kicking it out.

Syxx was beaten and weak. He could barely see her, but he saw her tears. He panted and grinned through bared teeth. He coughed. "And yet, I can still ask for more… I will still ask for more."

Krystal heard a distinct click. She looked down at the vulpine's left paw which began to glow a bright white through his knuckle. It'd drop to the floor, a plasma frag bouncing once before rolling under a nearby table. So close, but so out of reach.

Krystal's eyes went wide. She batted the live grenade away with her paw, pushing it further from them. She pulled down the table, covering herself and Syxx with it.

She almost covered them completely when it went off. Her ears rang, the table being tossed over them. She watched it, covered in green fire, as it was tossed clear over the two. She was pushed away from the black fox and consumed by a screen of smoke. She coughed hard, her head pounding. She staggered back to where the other fox was, but he was already gone. She sprang to her feet and found her staff. She pointed into the smoke. He wasn't done. He wouldn't run from a chance like this. He didn't care who, but only one of them was leaving this fight alive.

She quickly scanned the area with her sixth sense. It took no time at all to pinpoint him. But by the time she had located him, Syxx had already pinpointed her. He appeared from nothing, lunging out of the smoke. She quickly realized that he had found the knife once more as he made a quick slash toward her. She leapt back, narrowly dodging the first attack. But he was at it again, slashing his knife back and forth.

"I did everything I did to keep you safe!"

The fox kicked and rolled his arms through the air. Each move was smooth, each punch, kick, and slash of the knife leading right into the next. The onslaught was nonstop. Krystal could only back off, and dodge, as Syxx came at her with full force. She used her forearms to block his kicks, each slash of his knife landing on her staff causing her to be blinded by a waterfall of sparks.

"How safe do you feel now, Krystal?" He growled. "Tell me! TELL ME!"

Krystal was tossed back due to one final mighty thrust, her boots screeching across the floor as she caught herself. "I've always been safe with you. When StarFox left me, I had nowhere else to go. I have to do what I have to do to save the Lylat system."

Syxx darted forward again, slashing and cutting the air. Krystal dodged swiftly. "You think I can stop this war!? You Think that Fox is coming back!? I will not stop this war! 'Cause I could never be what you want me to! You pulled me under just to save yourself!"

"Fox!" She yipped and lost ground, defending herself against the onslaught of his attack.

"You will never see what's inside of me! Now I'm going to pull you under just to save myself!"

"I was lost. I'm sorry… You broke my heart."

The words that had destroyed his life. Those six words… Six… Six… Syxx.

"AHHHH!" The black furred fox exploded at the words, the words that brought him all the pain. Krystal's eyes shot open. She had never seen anything jump so far with one lunge. He flew through the air with the knife at his side, pointing right at her.

She whispered. "I'm sorry."

She pulled her staff behind her, the bladed crystal glowing bright blue as power radiated off of it. The power trickled down the staff and gathered at the blunt gem before it shot open. She lunged, meeting the fox in midair. They both jumped like they had super powers. She touched the electric end to Syxx's fur, his body lighting up a bright blue.

His eyes crept open. Krystal looked deep into Fox's green eyes. It was time. She could feel it. The spirit left her body, and with that, the last of her energy was gone. She had just enough left to watch the Krazoa enter the body of Fox McCloud.

The vixen dropped to the floor in a limp heap, landing on her side. The gunfire stopped and every single light in the room shorted out. The room went dark. Not completely, however. The hall was lit by a bright blue light. Krystal felt the soul slip out from under her, leaving her body. She rolled over on the floor, tasting blood.

The black fox floated high above her. He was surrounded by a blue glow with his chest pointed at the ceiling, his arms outward at his sides as he hung in the air. His body slowly relaxed as his back straightened back to normal. His body hung comfortably tranquil in the air as he was slowly eased back to the floor.

He didn't catch himself though. The fox was gently set on his legs, his glowing body slowly being let down. The remaining lights in the hall began to fade once more.

Krystal knew she shouldn't move, but she had to. She wearily made her way to her feet and stumbled toward the body. She collapsed at his side and watched him. He didn't move an inch.

She worried greatly for him, fearing the worst. But with the last of her energy depleted, she passed out. Her blurry vision was just clear enough to see her paw reaching for Syxx.

"Control this Bravo. Targets neutralized. Repeat Slayers have been neutralized. Area secure. Need all available medical personal to the east dining hall. Multiple casualties. Precious cargo is secured and breathing. Standing-by."

She could hear voices and radios as she lost consciousness.


	31. Clockwork

A/N: I uploaded this three weeks ago... and... today I find out the update didn't go through... so... here it is finally... sorry!  
-sx

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul**  
**XXXI  
Clockwork  
**_SyxxFox_

* * *

_One month later…_

Every day. Every day she was there. Day in. Day out. She watched. The glass wall shielded her from the black fox. He was in a quarantine room. All white. No other color except the fur of the black vulpine. The doctors all wore white radiation suits as they worked over the fox. He was hooked up to several machines, in which seemed liked dozens and dozens of wires, and small tubes the lead into the vulpine. He was comatose, and had been ever since his showdown with Krystal. He hadn't moved, and hadn't opened his eyes since.

Krystal was getting anxious, but as time passed, she didn't want him to wake up. She just wanted him to sleep. She didn't want to confront him. And worst of all, she still hid his true identity. No one knew who he was.

It wasn't just her who was there a lot; Peppy was there a lot too.

Falco put a wing over Krystal's shoulder, causing her to glance back slightly, then back forward through the glass, into the clean room. "Why're you torturing yourself like this?"

Krystal just kept staring into the room. "Because this is our last chance to put an end to this war."

Falco slowly nodded his head up and down. "What exactly was the damage?"

Krystal answered simply, knowing every little detail from the schematics. "Broken ribs, fractured collar bone, gunshot wound, concussion, the list goes on…"

"And you brought him down still."

She smiled very slightly from the side of her muzzle. "He was fighting to the end. When I took him- he still had so much more power. I had to put a stop to it, because he would have gone right until he heart stopped beating."

Peppy stared through the window, sitting at a corner. "Slayers will not stop until they die."

One of the men in chamber left it, as another team of professionals rolled in a small cart of tools. They all still wore sealed radiation suits. It wasn't long after that, the old fox stepped through the door to the observation room, and sat down at one of the many computers inside. He murmured something to Peppy as he stepped in, low enough so no one else could hear, and the General simply nodded in return.

"How is he doing?" Peppy asked.

The elder fox ran his paws over the keyboard, and he scratched his chin. "The Aparoid virus still lies dormant in his system. Our Anti-Viral has no effect on it. We're keeping him under close observation, just in case the virus overwhelms his system. We don't need him going rogue. I couldn't imagine the hell that an infected Slayer could unleash. As for the rest of him, all his 'immortality' boosters he was given in Slayer have repaired his entire bone structure already. He _could_ have suffered some muscular loss from being immobile for four weeks, buts that it. When he wakes, he will be in fighting condition again."

Peppy took a deep sigh. "Thank you, Doctor."

Slippy, had actually turned out to be an expert on the Slayers, and their gear. "You're lucky you stopped him when you did. He couldn't have gone much further before his body would have quit on him entirely."

"I'm proud of you Krystal." Katt put her paw on the vixen's shoulder, and smiled sweetly at her.

Krystal smiled back. "We're not done yet."

"Krystal is right." Peppy added. "We have very little time to be off this planet. And we cannot transport this man in the condition that he's in. If he's still in a coma by the end of the week, we'll have to boost his system."

"Adding too much adrenaline to his system could over oxygenate his brain, Sir." Said the Doctor. "Could cause permanent brain damage."

"Then we'll have to be careful."

The Doctor tapped his paw on the edge of the desk, and leaned back into his chair with his paw over his muzzle. "Sir, you're gonna want to take a look at this."

Peppy rolled his office chair over the computers, looking at the computer monitors on the older fox's desk. "Yes? What is it?"

The Doc leaned back in his seat more. "Sir, did Fox McCloud have a twin brother?"

The old hare's heart beat hard in his chest one time, very hard, and he felt light headed. "Fox…Fox was only child. His father died…" He trailed off, looking at the diagrams the scientist had up on his screen.

The schematics spun around on the screen, and a three dimensional image of two different DNA threads spun in the air. "On the left we have Fox's DNA thread, on the right is the man you see in the chamber. Watch." As he pressed a switch on the keyboard, the two threads meshed together, making a perfect match with each other. "Ninety-nine point nine percent match."

There was complete silence. They all just watched the DNA strands spin in the air. Krystal was turning flush, and felt completely white. She didn't say a thing. It was only a matter of time before this happened, and she had been dreading the day. She could feel Katt looking at her, even though she didn't meet her gaze. She had told Katt, once. When they were on Katina. She wasn't explicit about it, but she knew that Katt didn't believe her. Well, now, she would.

Peppy was in shock too, but he was the first to speak, in his shuttering voice. "Run it again."

"I have Sir. I've run it over and over and over. Five different samples of blood. Five different blood tests. Five different days. And three retina scans too. Everything matches up. Sir. If you're telling me, that Fox did not have a twin brother, then the man you are looking at in there, is Mister Fox McCloud."

Peppy took a long pause again. He got up out of his seat, and stepped over to the large one-way glass window. He put his paw on the glass and stared into the chamber. He watched the vulpine, motionless. He felt lost, and confused, and most of all betrayed.

StarFalco all stood behind him, he almost had his nose pressed to the glass, as the old man spoke. "How long have you known?"

"Over a week Sir, I wasn't going to say anything until I was absolutely sure."

"Not you."

Krystal knew that he was addressing her. She could sense the question coming before he even asked, and she was trying to formulate an answer before the words were even spoken. But it was time to end the line of lies. It was time to stop covering his tail. She swallowed hard, and exhaled deeply. "Almost a year now… Peppy."

She could feel all of the teams eyes all glowered on her. She could sense them all staring her down. The feeling of being singled out flowed through her. She wasn't exactly sure how Peppy was going to react to this. The only thing that she could sense in him was deep sorrow. "So it's true then."

She just simply nodded. "Yes. It's him."

"How did you find out?"

She sighed. "He never wanted me to know. It was fate that brought us back together. When I lived on Kew, we had an encounter, and I was able to find out that it was him. He escaped after that." She swallowed hard, and looked down at her boots. "He was at his own funeral Peppy… He went to his own funeral…"

"Who else knows?"

"No one. I'm sorry, Peppy."

Peppy took a long sigh. She could tell that he wanted to be mad. But he didn't let it show. To her surprise, the spark of anger that was in his thoughts just a moment ago, disappeared. "I want to be upset with you Krystal, I really do, but." He took a pause and turned around, to look at her, right in the eye. "I would have done the same thing. I would have protected him…"

Krystal found herself a little bit shocked by his answer. She never thought about it quite like that before. She never considered that Peppy, Slippy, that anyone in her situation would do the same thing she did. It sure made her feel less guilty.

Peppy's breath collected slightly on the glass, as he pressed his head against it. "And it explains a lot."

Falco was just staring into the chamber. "It explains nothing, Peppy."

"Slayer, was a brutal program. He's lucky to be alive." Said Slippy. "So are we, it would seem."

"So, Fox couldn't have been in his ship when in burned."

Slippy shook his head. "He was on that Arwing when it left the GreatFox. I checked the video feeds, preflight reports, departure, air traffic, everything, I checked everything. He was on that ship, when it burned."

Katt too stared into the glass room. "Yet, here he is."

Falco let out an unimpressed huff. "Then he eluded us all, somehow. For years."

Slippy sighed. "I never knew that his mental health had deteriorated so much. There was so much more that we could have done."

Falco glared at the toad, and tapped his boot on the floor. "We did all we could for Fox. He deserted us. All of us."

Slippy turned his leer back to Falco. "Fox always reached out to us when we needed him. We couldn't do the same for him? We all went our own way."

"Fox went cold on us toad, get that through your skull!"

"Don't get snippy with me, Falco."

"I'm just getting snippy with you, because I know we're all at fault, cause we traded in Fox, for this guy!" Falco pointed into the chamber, with a tear at his eye.

Katt knew she had to do something. Even she could sense that this wasn't as bad for anyone as it was for Peppy. She growled and raised her voice. "That's enough you two! This isn't the time!"

"Slippy is right." Peppy still had his head on the glass, watching. "Our lives all changed, while his stayed the same. None of us had room for him, or the time."

What Peppy said was true, and it made Krystal's guilt come back. She watched the doctors operate on the vulpine, as she stepped up beside Peppy. They were working on his fangs. Among all the other damages done to his body, he was missing a tooth. One that was gold, and Krystal still possessed. She cringed as she watched them drill into his mouth. On the operating table, next to all the tools, they required for the dental work, there was something else. A small silver sliver and the last thing that she watched was the dental professional apply some blue foam to the artificial tooth, and cautiously place it into his jaw. The last thing to go on was an apparatus to keep his jaw open, while it adhered. The mask went back on over his muzzle to assist him in his lazy breathing.

Peppy presses his head back on the glass. "Krystal, you know more about this situation than I ever could. Effective of the moment that he is conscious, you are responsible for his behavior. Krystal, I need you to be able to keep him under control." He spun around and looked at her. "We need him."

Krystal nodded. "Yes. Understood. I'll make sure that we don't lose him."

Peppy took a deep sigh once more, and pulled back. "How could it come to this?"

"The entire fate of the Lylat System," Katt took a pause, "does, and always has rested in the hands of Fox McCloud."

Peppy slowly nodded his head on the glass, agreeing with Katt. "Slippy. You know more about Slayer than anyone. You have to design a situation where we can wake him. And environment where he doesn't feel trapped. I have a feeling that he won't be too cooperative if he's cornered."

"Yes Peppy." Slippy said in return. "I'll design a situation that makes him feel like he's in control, even if he's not. That's the best way we can get him to talk."

Falco, was staring in through the glass. Perhaps he was more shocked than anyone. He was frozen, as he gazed. "What do we do?"

"Everyone take some time. Let it sink it. Think of ideas of how we're getting off this planet. If the engineers need help, help them." Peppy stepped back and made his way to the door. "Slippy, go over the Vortec's. Maybe we can use them. See if anything is salvageable on them."

"Sir." Slippy said simply.

Peppy turned back to them, addressing them all. "If he is not awake by the end of the week, and we cannot force wake him. We transport him. Regardless of the consequences. We will not be able to wait any longer, because we need to be off the surface of this planet, by the end of this month. Hmm, what about the other one? How long has he known about this?"

"Pyro…?"

* * *

X

* * *

"Oh here's a nice one."

Pyro the raccoon was locked up. Locked in the cell next to where they kept Syxx. This was a larger cell though. Had a little more space in it, and room to move around. Pyro wasn't kept bonded though. He was allowed to roam around the cell and do as he wished. There were still guards placed outside the cell, but Pyro was not seen as much of a threat as Syxx was. He just kept kicked back. Black army boots up on the table, white tank top, and green army cargo pants. He flipped through a magazine, licking his paw-tip as he flipped the page. It was a Cornerian Automotive magazine. His left arm was in a cast with a white sling that was draped around his neck, propping it on his chest.

Pyro would frequently talk to the guards that over-watched him. There were some that would speak back, but most the time they would just remain silent.

The raccoon flipped the page again. "There it is. Cutler R5X. Plasma Boost. Looks like it WAS in pretty good shape too. How much did buddy want for this thing… sixteen thousand-whhhhaaat? I tell ya, I had an RX5 in collage. That thing was like throwing money into a pit. God-damn, almost couldn't pay my school fee's after I drove them damn thing right through the front doors of a-"

The man froze in his words, as his ears perked up. The blast doors at the end of the hall way, swung open. He immediately put his boots on the floor, and stood up, approaching the glass wall. It wasn't often he had visitors, and how he loved provoking some conflict. He loved to push buttons and to make the guards rage. This time it was all of StarFalco, they came in, all in single file. It was like they were marching, and stopped all the same time, staring in at him.

There was a very awkward silence for a little while, while the three of them just stared at him in his cell. He recognized the blue vixen, and knew who the avian was. He wasn't familiar with who the toad was though, but they all gave him the same look, making Pyro shift his eyes back and forth. "Is this about me?"

Peppy was the last to enter, and stood in front of StarFalco. The hare glared at him, with a stone face. "How long have you known Syxx?"

The raccoon blinked a few times. His shoulders slouched and his ears drooped. "Aww, it's never about me."

The hare crossed his arms, and narrowed his gaze. "Answer the question."

Pyro just lied his way through it, not giving a second thought to his answers. "Met him in tech school, probably ten years back."

Peppy huffed. "I'll take it then you didn't know Syxx before Slayer. What was the last thing that Syxx said to you before the battle?"

"Why is that so important?"

Peppy snapped back. "Things will get a lot worse for you, if you don't tell us what we need to know."

He looked around and shrugged one shoulder, wondering how it could get any worse. "He told me, the same thing he tells us every time that we go to battle."

Peppy leaned in closer. "Which was?"

The raccoon took a long pause, and he nodded his head subtly, and stared at the floor. It wasn't like Pyro to take things seriously. He let his muzzle hang open slightly for a moment. "Corneria created the Slayers, and they were the ones to lose control. Our slogan was Be Swift Be Silent. Syxx worked on a different accord. He didn't care who got in the way, or the fate they would suffer."

Peppy stared, still with a hard face. "What did he say?"

"Same thing he always tells us." He turns his head to them and smiled ever so slightly. "Take all and kill the rest."

"And you agree with his ways, Pyro?"

Pyro paced around in his cell. "Did I agree with the things that the Cornerian Army sent me to do? No. I do what I am told. He did give us a certain amount of freedom though. More than you guys ever did."

Peppy taped his foot on the floor. "I'll take that as a no."

"Of course not. None of us did. None of us wanted to go to war. We just wanted freedom. Syxx was on the war path. Though you attacked us first, Syxx didn't have to start a war. He just used it as an excuse. And we all followed. We showed our strength when we neutralized your drop forces on the surface of Sauria. But, you couldn't stop at that. You sent a whole fleet to destroy us." He took a pause. "I don't know… maybe I would have done the same thing."

"How long have you known about Fox McCloud?"

Pyro stopped in his tracks. "What the hell does McCloud have to do with all this?"

Peppy snapped at the coon. "Answer the question."

"I don't know… four maybe five months now."

Peppy took a step closer to the glass. "Really?"

Pyro chuckled and turned around, and sat down in his seat again, this time with his back to them, and boots up on the table. "No. I've no idea what the f-ck you're talking about."

Peppy hit his fist on the glass. "How long have you known that Syxx is Fox McCloud?!"

This got Pyro's attention right away. He froze in mid page, about to flip it. But he stopped, and darted his head upward. He stared at the wall in front of him with wide eyes, his back still turned to them. His ears flickered, and there was a half-smile over his muzzle, where his jaw had dropped. "What?"

"Stop playing games with me, Slayer."

Pyro darted up from the seat, and put a paw in his pocket as his slung arm bounced on his chest. He stood just on the other side of the glass. He leaned inward and looked at his boots, almost pressing his ear to the glass. "Say that last part again, really slow this time. Humor me."

"How long have you known the true identity of Syxx, as Fox McCloud?"

Pyro took a step back. "You guys are fuckin' with me."

They all just stared into his cell, some with their arms crossed. They were stern. Their actions alone indicated that this was no joke, and no laughing matter.

Pyro jumped. "Wha…What?!" He grinned, shocked, and excited. "No one, f-ck-n' told me!"

With that, the team all left together, simply walking out of the room. Pyro bounced up and down. "Na-Na-No! Wait! Get back here! Let's talk about this one!" The door closed and he still shouted, grinning. "Noooo! You can't leave me like this!" He slammed his fist on the glass wall. "Come on!"

They all fast walked out of the brig, and each of them listened to Pyro's yells before the door shut behind them. Peppy briefed them. "I need you all now team, we're planning to extract the civilians from the Police Station. They've been holding out there for a long time, and need to be relived. No one else gets left behind. We're going to get them. You'll provide air support for the convoy. Be in my office, at four-teen hundred for execution briefing tomorrow. We'll develop a plan then. Dismissed."


	32. Demon Core

**Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul**  
**XXXII  
Demon Core  
_SyxxFox_**

* * *

It was like he could hear everything. It was like he could feel everything and yet it all seemed so much like an apparition to him. It was all like watching a movie. Some parts went by fast, and some parts went by slow, but one thing remained constant. All he could do was watch, listen, and sometimes feel. There was no sense of time to him though. No way for him to know, how much time had passed. Everything was so bright though, the ceiling had bright plasmatic lights looming down on him, the walls were white. All the figures that hovered above him where in white suits, and most the time, would have white masks covering their faces, but other times, he could see them. The virus gave him nightmares. The Aparoids infected his mind… or was it the Krazoa that gave him the nightmares?

White figures worked above him, holding silver tools, scalpels; and then once again… darkness.

The whining of a drill and a sharp pain in his jaw… darkness.

The next time his vision lapsed, the white figures were back. They didn't have helmets on this time though; though they were all still so blurry to him. He could hear their voices, and just barely make out their silhouettes.

"How much longer do we have before the adrenaline takes affect?"

"Not long, we have to hurry."

"We're running out of time. He's coming out of it. Pulse rising. Brain activity is returning to normal wave lengths. Remove his oxygen feed. We don't want to over oxygenate his brain."

One of the figures loomed over him, and removed the clear facemask, and unwrapping it from around his head.

"The adrenaline is activating his body quicker than anticipated. It has something to do with his metabolic boosters from Project Slayer. He's reanimating right now."

"Put him under again. We need more time."

"Yes Sir."

One of the ghosts picked up a needle from off the table. He took the cover off the syringe, and flicked it, squirting out any air that was inside. He pointed it down at the vulpine, aiming it right at his neck. All of a sudden, the black fox's vision cleared instantly, and his lazy body filled with energy, as his eyes focused in an instant. His paw shot up, grabbing the orange feline's wrist. Syxx pulled him down over his body, and stabbed the syringe into the doctor's neck by putting his own paw over the doctor's and using his own thumb to press the plunger down. The Slayer watched, seeing the eye lids flutter, and pupils roll back into his head.

Syxx pulled the needle out of the doctor's neck. The other men were already acting. One held a small silver gun up to Syxx's head, from the footing of his bed. The Slayer spun the needle around his paw, and tossed the syringe across the room, planting it right in the red fox's chest. He stumbled backward, pointing the pistol to the ceiling and firing it twice, before falling to the floor. Syxx hopped up from the bed, ripping all the IVs right out of his body, and tossing the orange feline off his chest with one swift grab. The last man was making a run for the door, after hiding for a brief moment behind a cart of tools.

Syxx felt full of energy. He picked the dart gun off one of the men, and just as the thick door was shutting and the last doctor fleeing, he pointed the weapon upward, as the doors were sliding together. He took aim, and shot one time, just sneaking the dart through the crack in the bio doors. Just as the door shut, he could hear the doctor slam into the next door, completely unconscious.

Syxx brushed his paw through his hair, and winced. "Aghhh…" He stepped forward to the downed fox, and kicked him over with his bare foot. His eyes still fluttered, he was still awake, but just barely. There was just enough sedative left in the syringe to knock him down, but not out. Syxx pointed the dart gun down at his chest, and pulled the trigger once, without a second thought, sending the old fox into complete unconsciousness.

Syxx placed the weapon down on the table next to his bed, he tied up his rob, which was undone at the rear, exposing his whole hind quarters. He quickly tied it up with the draw strings, and picked up the gun again. His mind already searched for a way out. He grabbed a scalpel from off the cart, and gripped it in his other paw, tight.

He noticed for the first time, that there was one wall that wasn't completely white. One wall had a large black slate in it. He knew what it was right away. It was a large black mirror. It was one way glass, but that wasn't the aspect of it, that had him so interested. As he stepped up to the mirror, he stared into his own eyes. They were not his own regular green eyes, the ones that he was so familiar with. They were consumed it, by wavy blue, silver, that danced like a fire through his eyes. He was possessed. He was possessed by the Krazoa. He could hear it whispering inside his head in only complete silence. The voice wasn't in his ears, but right in his head. He couldn't understand a word of the whispers. He ran his paw through his white head fur, and tugged at it, trying to silence the voices.

There was something else though. He opened his mouth. The fang that was missing for so long had been replaced, it wasn't gold though. This one was silver. He rubbed it with his claw tip, and glided his tongue over it. It was so smooth, and still tasted a little bit of metal. He watched himself in awe. His appearance was like it was totally new to him, and it was almost like he was infatuated with himself. As he stared into the glass, he was attacked. It was like a hell fire of darts. They whistled by him, one after the other, slashing off the glass, and the walls. It was more than one than hit him though. It was like a dozen different bee's stung him. He didn't turn though. He didn't even acknowledge the officers coming in to take him down. He just kept staring at his own face, confused. It wasn't long before he felt woozy, and slowly began to wobble. He put his paw on the wall to help him gain balance, before he collapsed to his knees. His claws drug down the wall and glass with a sharp screech, before he toppled over sideways onto his shoulder, now against the wall like a rag doll.

The next time he opened his eyes, it felt like he was only asleep for what seemed like a blink. No longer in the chamber, he was in a different room. A different bed. A different place altogether. His eyes opened, but he didn't dare move. He remained motionless, not flexing a single muscle. He looked around with his eyes only. Everything was silent. Except for the beeping of his heart monitor and the whispering of the Krazoa in his head, there wasn't a sound. He remained silent and motionless. He looked around, after waiting for something to happen. It never came though. It looked to him like he was in the room of a hospital, just like one back on Corneria.

The chairs around him were empty, but he noticed in the top right corner of the room, there was a television. It took him a moment to notice what was on it though. It wasn't just a tv show, movie or a re-run. It was something of legacy. It was news, but not current news. It was old news. At the base of the frame, there was a date. A date of significance. In the other corner, there was a profile photo of a red fox, and consuming rest of the frame was something that was replayed over and over and over again, from what seemed like a thousand different angles. A fireball burning above a city, red hot flame and black smoke scored a blue sky. He knew at the back of his head, that this was no coincidence. But he refused to acknowledge the reality of his situation.

When he tried to turn in his bed, he realized that he was in a little more of a situation than he previously thought. He pulled at his arm, only to realize that he was bonded to the bed, with a nylon strap. And it wasn't just that single wrist, it was the other one too, and both his ankles. He pulled at them for a short moment, before his glowing silver-blue eyes focused on a table that was right next to him. A tall silver table on rollers and on the top of that table, there as a tray of tools, and his eyes focused right in on the scalpel. He reached for it, with his paw. He realized right away that was not going to do him any good. Even after using his might to shift the bed, he wasn't any closer.

The fox twisted himself on his side, and batted the table with his tail, accidently pushing it a little further away at first. He swore under his breath, before moving himself a little closer, and wrapping his tail around one leg of the table, and pulling it closer to him. He tugged it. He knocked the table on the bedside over and over again, holding his paw below the table, open. When the tray was knocked over, he caught the scalpel right out of the air. He fumbled the tool for a moment, holding his breath, and letting it out when he finally got a firm grip on it.

The tool was sharp, and after a little bit of trouble cutting the first strap. The rest were easy. They just sliced right off. He jumped off the bed, not making a single sound as the pads of his foot-paws hit the floor. He quickly looted the place after tearing off all his IV lines. He looked through drawers, and cupboards. He was looking for something to wear. All he had was a hospital gown. He immediately found a duffle bag on one of the chairs. He quickly unzipped it, and went through it. He knew right then and there, that he was being set up. This bag had everything that he needed, and he geared up into the black combat boots, a tac vest, and camo cargo pants. There was no shirt to go under the vest, It was just that alone over his shoulders.

The best thing he had for his weapon was the operating tool. After doing the last strap of Velcro up on his tac vest. He rolled the surgical blade into his paw, and worked with all he had. He approached the door, and put his ear up against it, and listened for a moment. His ears flickered, but he didn't hear anything. He took a long pause waiting for something. He couldn't see any cameras inside, but he assumed that he was being watched. Why would they leave him all this gear?

He put his paw on the door knob and turned it slowly from side to side. Locked. The door was wooden, and he assessed it. It just needed one good kick, and it would rock off the hinges. He wasn't sure of that was the best course of action for him though, but it was all he had. He put his back up on the wall next to the door. He breached alone. He kicked his boot backward into the door, sending it off its lock. He rolled around the corner, and was met with a warmer reception than he thought.

The clicking of dozens and dozens of rifles being cocked filled the room. He could count four black rifle muzzles right in his face. It wasn't just that though. There were dozens of soldiers in the next room. Some were covered in Siege armoring, so he couldn't see their faces. Just tails. Just tails and weapons. He slowly rose up his paws up to his sides, dropping the scalpel to the floor, just at the same time as both Krystal and Peppy appeared from the sea of warriors.

Syxx smirked as his eyes darted around. "A little overkill, don't ya' think?"

Peppy crossed his arms. "I think we should take every measure required, wouldn't you?"

Syxx shrugged one shoulder. "I would say, do as much as you can with as little as you have. Especially with the situation that you're in."

Peppy snapped back. "That _we're_ in!"

"How noble of you, to drag me down with you, Hare."

"How did it come to this, Fox?" Peppy asked.

The black vulpine was stunned for a moment. The jig was up after all these years. He had to play the hand that he was given, and that was the reality of his situation. The strangest part was, he accepted this outcome a little more than he thought he would be able to. Maybe because of the spirit, or maybe because he truly didn't think he was Fox McCloud anymore. "I'm not your Fox anymore. I was forced to move on. You should to."

The hare barked. "We did!"

"Then it was you who got in my way."

Krystal interrupted the chat that Peppy and the dark fox were having. She didn't speak in Lylatian though. She spoke with a Suarian tongue. "_Please behave."_

Syxx answered back just as fast, speaking in the dino talk. "_This doesn't concern you."_

Peppy growled at them both. "In a language we can all understand, please."

Syxx huffed. He rolled both his paws into knuckles. "What exactly do you need from me?"

"You know what we need black-fox."

"If you are fishing for an apology, you're not going to get it. Answer the question."

"We need your help in stopping this war."

Syxx raised an eyebrow, and his smirk once again returned. "You think I can stop the bloodshed?"

The room was silent for a while, and as Syxx took a step forward, fingers went on triggers, and every soldier flinched. Their boots dug into the tile. Syxx drug his foot back to himself, knowing that he was on thin ice. His tail swayed back and forth behind him, impatiently.

Peppy stared at him, unyielding. "Where can we come to an agreement?"

Syxx had an immediate answer. "Let's start right now. Where is Pyro?"

"We can't allow you to speak to him right now."

"If you don't want to play, then don't deal the cards. Where is Pyro?"

"He's in our brig."

"Show me."

"We need some contingency from you first, Fox."

Syxx spoke low and deep, with his eyes narrowed. "When you have leverage, you get your contingency. Show me Pyro. He'd. Better. Be. Alive."

The walk to the brig was long. Long and silent. In addition to Peppy, Krystal and the dark Slayer, there were four Black Ops, and six more Marines. All was completely silent until Pyro saw Syxx for the first time.

Pyro knocked on the glass as they all approached. "Hello fishy's!"

Syxx appeared in front of the glass door. He gave the raccoon a wicked fanged grin, noticing the his slung arm, and his recovering face. "Haha, you look like sh-t."

The coon shared the smile back at him, and knocking his knuckle on the glass a few times more. "Oh yeah? Taken a look in the mirror recently?"

Syxx laughed in a short huff "Open it."

"We can't do that."

"I said, do it."

Peppy nodded his head once, indicating that it was alright for them to open the door.

Pyro opened his arms up in greeting from behind the glass. "Haha! Look at you eh?! You son of a bitch! Fox McCloud huh?! I never knew that I was in training with a legacy!"

Syxx knocked Pyro back into the cell, with and open palmed hit to the chest. With his elbow he smashed the control panel to the cell, sending a shower of sparks into the air, and the glass door to hiss shut, trapping both Syxx and Pyro on the inside.

Syxx crossed his arms, from the inside of the cell. "Alright, I'm ready to negotiate now. I know you need my help. What do I get out of you?"

"You're not going to get forgiveness, for all the things you've done."

Syxx narrowed his eyes. The thought never came to his mind, and nor did he care. "Settled." He went on. "I'll help you. I need something from you though."

Peppy took a step forward. "What are your terms?"

Syxx stepped closer to the glass, smiling deviously, he presses his shoulder to the cell glass. "I need control over your forces. Every move they make, I need to know about it."

Peppy took a long pause. "What are you asking?"

Syxx smirked. "I'm pulling rank here, Peppy. You're fighting a reborn strain of the Aparoid virus. Your tactics and intelligence are out of date."

"You know I can't do that… Fox." The hare took a long sigh and looked down at his boots, as he cleared his throat.

The black fox abruptly knocked his knuckle on the glass. "Well then, would you like discuss your other option." His smug smile still remained, as he knew that they had no other choice.

Peppy jumped from the knock, and put his eyes back up the black fox. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"Are you willing to take another chance?"

"Do we get you as an asset, as well as all the other Slayers?"

"The other Slayers have no place in this fight. You get me and Pyro. Take it or leave it. You have ten seconds to decide."

Peppy snapped back at him. "You don't intimidate me, Fox. You've forsaken the system and your father's name. I hope you're happy! You've destroyed Corneria!"

Syxx huffed. "No fur off my back. Now are we willing to strike a deal?"

Peppy looked over his shoulder at Krystal. He knew that she was monitoring the whole conversation, and with her sixth sense, she would be the only one would knew for sure, if he were telling the truth or not. "What do you think, Krystal?"

She had her paw on her forehead. "He's telling the truth. He wants out. He won't dishonor a deal." She whispered to Peppy, so the Slayers couldn't hear.

Peppy nodded his head subtly, and turned back to the cell. "This is the last favor I'll ever do for you, Fox. We have a deal. But, we also have some conditions. You have to prove to me that you won't dishonor our agreement."

The Slayer growled lightly from the back of his throat, making it very deep. "What did you have in mind?"

"You have to prove to me, that you and your friend over there are going to be as much of an asset as you say you're going to be. If you pass both of these tests, we've got a deal."


End file.
